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HISTORY 



OF 



ROTHWELL, 

In the County of Northampton. 



WITH AN 



Account of the Bone Caverns, 

BY 

PAUL CYPHER. 



(Sngrabinga" ri §mssts nvib MothmU. 



Northampton : 
TAYLOR & SON, PRINTERS & PUBLISHERS. 



REMARKS ON A 



ftalhttxnn of 3\\x\lh 



FBOM 



ROTHWELL. 

i 

By GEORGE BUSK, Esq., F.R.S. 



Bead before the Ethnological Society, December 13, 1870. 



, The skulls which form the subject of the following obser* 
vations were selected by Mr. Grove from an enormous col- 
j lection contained in a subterranean vaulted chamber in the 
parish of Rothwell. Of the history of this collection, or the 
'sources whence the skulls were derived, Mr. Grove was 
\ unable to obtain any authentic particulars ; and it is not 
i improbable that it merely represents the gradual accumula- 
tion, through a long series of years, of skulls and bones 
* removed from the adjacent churchyard. The remains, there- 
jfore, might be taken as fair representatives of the population 
' of the surrounding district for a very considerable period, 
and, as such, of much value in an ethnological point of view. 
As the specimens selected by Mr. Grove were for the most 
'part chosen as presenting what appeared to him some striking 
« peculiarity— they cannot be regarded as affording any very 
correct idea of the general character of the collection, and it 
| would be very desirable, in the interests of ethnological 
science, that a full examination and numerous measurements 
should be made of a3 many of the skulls as possible, for by 
'this means alone could it be determined whether the certainly 
somewhat peculiar characters seen in the skulls exhibited by 
Mr. Grove, are or are not present in a majority of the 
remainder. 

The skulls submitted to me for examination consist of eight 
in tolerable preservation so far as the calvaria itself is con- 
cerned, but, excepting in one instance, the facial bones are 
all wanting, nor is there a single lower jaw among them. 
Besides these are fragments of four other skulls, consisting 
for the most part of portions of the frontal bone. 

1. The bones, with one exception, present the usual aspect 
of those which have laiu long in a vault, none appearing to 



have been long in the open ground. They exhibit no marks 
of injury inflicted during life. 

2. From their size and comparative thinness and delicacy, 
I should conclude that some of the skulls are those of 
females. 

3. As regards form, the most striking peculiarity of all or 
nearly all of these skulls is the extreme lowness of the fore- 
head. It would not of course be difficult, in any large 
collection of modern English skulls, to find many equally 
marked by this peculiarity, but I am not acquainted with an 
instance where so many skulls from one locality are so 
strikingly marked in this respect. And it should be noticed 
that the frontal depression is as strongly evinced in the 
brachycephalic as in those of a more elongated form. It is 
also to be noted that the frontal sinuses in most of the skulls 
are of extraordinary dimensions. 

4 With respect to the dimensions afforded by these bones 
I have thought it more convenient to throw them into a 
tabular form from which the following particulars, amongst 
others, may be culled: — 

(1.) That tlie proportionate mean dimension 3 of the entire 
calvaria, taken in the way I have before suggested,— viz : by 
the addition together of the figures denoting the length, 
breadth, and height— ^are represented for purposes of com- 
parison by the numbers in inches as under : (1) Rothwell 
skulls mean, 18'0 ; (2) modern English (mixed) mean, 18'58 ; 
(3) priscan and ancient (mixed) mean, 18'55 ; (4) priscan 
(Scandinavian) mean, 18*88. 

These numbers are of course merely relative, but they will 
serve to show that, as contrasted with the ordinary recent Eng- 
lish type, the skulls are rather small, and aleo aa compared 
with a good many of the pre-historic or priscan and ancient 
skulls met with in this country, and still more so as compared 
with the large skulls of the stone period found in Scandinavia. 
This comparative smallness, however, may Derhaps be ac- 
counted for by the circumstance that the collection includes 
female skulls, or it may be due probably to the smaller 
stature of the people,— a point which can only be ascertained 
by a proper examination of the limb bones in the same 
ossuary. 

(2.) The majority of the skulls are more or less biacny- 
cephalic-in fact all but one— the mean latitudinal or cephalic 
index being '782 and the highest '833, whilst, in accordance 
with the law I have before pointed out*, the latitudinal index 
is considerably less, viz.: 754. 

(3.) In the other proportionate measurements of the skull 
there is nothing particular to remark. 

* « On the Discovery of Platycnemic Men in Denbighshire/' 
Journal of Ethnological Society, 1871, p. Wt, 



£afcle of &utumtmwt* 



3 

g 


GO<rC5Cni^COfcOH J 


No. 


cn 
cn 


. os <r os <r <r ^r ^r 

: oi to ob cn >— Oi O 

CTxCncncnCncnCncn 
tOCnCOtfi-if^cicsQO 


Length. 


Breadth. 


Cn 


Cncncncncncncncn 
^ ^ £l Co to k£ tf*"^ 


Height. 


Co 


WCOCOCOCOCOCOCO 
GOi^CnOOODGO-^GO 


Least frontal diam. 






Greatest frontal diam. 


to 


£>. (*;. cn cn cn cn cn cn 

CO^t6t6C0Ci)f*CO 


Parietal diameter. 


CO 


§w§SSSw5j Occipital ditto. 




#*. . 

: : : : : -j: : 


Zygomatic ditto. 


CO 




Frontal radius. 


^ 
>£ 


gh.'^. ^ £*.(£. £l |jU £*. 


Vertical ditto. 




i^. ^ i^ £t $*. xb\ cn tf^ 

-AoooocooJoooi 


Parietal ditto. 


6 


. CO CO CO if*, t£. £* CO 

: *i 6 CO H l^ h oi 


Occipital ditto. 




CO . . 

: : : : : (^ : : 


Maxillary ditto. 


CO 


CO CO CO . CO CO rf^ CO 

go co cn : oi ^ © ci> 


Fronto-nasal ditto. 


tO 

O 
CO 


. t— r— f— to tO bO bO 

. ©©COOOHO 
GO CO Oi GO Cn t^L CO 


Circumference. 




: co t-> co if*, cn cn £*. 
oo to 00 CO h-» to o\ 


Longitudinal arc. 


cn 


. cn on ^ cn cn cn cn 

• 6 w cs 6 c oi H 


Frontal ditto. 


cn 
O 


d^tJ^Ojtf^CnCntJu^ 

co Ci © cn co ifl cn co 


Parietal ditto. 




05 CO 05 "^ CD CO )£». Cn 


Occipital ditto. 


M 

Co 

I— » 
CO 

»— 

00 
00 


tocDtotooioicDoi 


Frontal transverse arc. 


totocotocoix^coco 
c^^cocncocDcoo 


Parietal ditto. 


h-4|-.(— I— • h-» |__i |__i |_a 


Occipital ditto. 


: oc "^T ^q- *»i ■va ^ o£> 

• CO CO co to CO Co to 
CO OS hgx O 00 GO cn 


Latitudinal index. 


Ot 

1 l£* 


: -*j ~4 «^r d> ^ - j o6 

• ^J Ox ■<! CO OS 1— tO 

to © CO o © o © 


Altitudinal index. 



ON THE BONES AT ROTHWELL. 



1. The Natural History of Northampton-shire ; with some 

Account of the Antiquities, by John Morton, M.A. 

London, 1712. 

2. A paper read at Peterborough, at the meeting of the 

Associated Architectural Societies, May 24th, 1855, 
by M. H. Bloxam, Esq. (See Mercury, June 16th, 
1855.) 

3. An article " Wanted, an Owner. Some account ot 

certain bones found in a vault beneath Rothwell 
Church, Northamptonshire." (See Frasers Maq., 
July, 1858.) 

4. A lecture delivered to the members of the Moulton 

Religious and Useful Knowledge Society, January 
3, 1862, by Major Whyte Melville. (See Mercury, 
January 11, 1862.) 

5. A paper read before the Committee for Local Antiqui- 

ties, at Northampton, June 3, 1862, by Samuel 
Sharp, Esq. (See Mercury, June 7, 1862.) 

6. An article on Rothwell. (See Herald, June 20, 1863.) 

7. A letter on Rothwell Crypt and Naseby Battle, by 

J. L. Cherry. (See Notes and Queries, October 30, 
1869 ; also November 20, 1869.) 

8. " History of Rothwell," with an Account of the Bone 

Caverns ; by Paul Cypher. 

9. A letter on the Rothwell Bones, by Rev. Norman 

Glass. (See Herald, July 15, 1871.) 



THE 
HUNDRED OFROTHWELL 

OTHERWISE ROW ELL, 



In the reign of William the Conquer r th\% 
district was di v ided into two distinct hundreds, 
that of Stotfald on the west, and Rode well on 
the east; but these two, according to a register 
of Knights fees, were united as early as the 24th 
year of the reign of Edward 1st. It is very 
possible the extent of the original hundred, in- 
cluding ten tythings only, did not attain io the 
linvts of the present division ; but this is easily 
accounted for, by the known fact of that extension 
of the liberty of the hundred, which always 
resulted from either the draining of a marsh, the 
felling of a forest, or the cultivation of waste 
land ; and it seems very clear, that each of those 
laws has had its share in extending the boundaries 
of the present hundred. Its extent, acreage, and 



2 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

population at the census of 1841, were as follow :-— 



Parish 



Rothwell cum Orton, and the 

hamlet of Thorpe Underwood 

Thorpe Malsor 

Loddington 

(llendon Cum Barfcrd. 

Rushton, All Saints & St. Peter 

Harrington 

Desborough 

Arthingworth 

Bowdeu paiva with Oxendon 

parva 

Oxendon magna 

Braybrooke 

Glipston with Newbold 

Draughton 

East Farndon 

1 1 as le beach 

Kelmarsh 

Maid well 

Maiston Trussell including 

Thorpe Lubbenham 

Sibbeitoft 

Sulby is partly within this hundred 
Hedingworth partly within the 

hundred 



Acreage 


Population 


4,430 


2,939 


68o 


366 


1,020 


226 


1,490 


53 


2,960 


497 


2,000 


238 


2,410 


1,388 


2,030 


242 


2,410 


439 


1,620 


234 


3,060 


4*2 


2,800 


869 


1,360 


208 


1,070 


250 


1,790 


194 


3,760 


163 


1,650 


258 


1,64c 


236 


2,620 


437 


700 


70 


2,220 


210 



CHAPTER 1st. 
ANCIENT STATE OF ROW ELL. 
The market town of Rothwell, or as it is 
popularly termed Rowell, is of very considerable 



tiuNDRED OF ROTllWELL, OTHERWISE ROWELE. 3 

antiquity, for as ea'lv as 11.54, in the reign of 
Henry 2nd we find an exemption from toils, 
granted by flower Ea» I of (.Mare to the Premon • 
strateusian, monks of Sulby Abbey, on all articles 
they might vend or purchase at his mercate of 
Howell. In tl>e year 120-1, the fifth of John, 
the manor was confif ried to Richard Earl of 
Clare, with the mercate and other privileges ; on 
condition that the market day should be changed 
from Sunday to Monday ; and about this time an 
important privilege appeusto have been granted, 
an annual fair to comnvnce upon Trinity^ eve, 
and continue the four fdlowing days* lr. the 
year 121ft the manor fofm-d a portion of the 
princelv possession of the Etr! of Gloucester, and 
wasrapidly advancing in prosperiiy and importance 
The commerce moreover of the town must have 
been of some con-equ? nee, for at this period we 
find the townsmen petitioning Henfy 3rd for 
exemption from all pontage, tollage, &c. in the 
town of Northampton, on the ground of tenancv 
of the honour of Gloucester. In compliance 
with this petition, the Kin<r directed the i sue of 
a precept to the Mayor and Ba lifTsof the s<ad town, 
forbidding such exaction ; to which precept the 
oficials of Northampton replied, that the town of 
Rothwell was not parcel of the honour of 
Gloucester, and that the townsmen hiving paid 
the accustomed demands timeout of mind, they 
could not proceed to the execution of I he ?aid 
writ. About this period the magnificent church 
must have been completed, as the sepulchral brass 
of its earliest kno^n Gapellane, William de 
Rothwelle, records his death on the 4th of the 
nones of August 1220; and the town in all 
probability had gained the summit of its prosperity 



4 COUNTY OF NOKTUAMPTON. 

-Although the record? are bit scanty, they are 
sufficient to convince m, that it was a willed town, 
of a mixed ec lesiastic and military character. 
The ncble church, with ihe chapelry of the blessed 
Virgin, aud th$ Augustine Nunnery of St. John 
the Baptist, founded by the Clares, evincing the 
value of its pries'ly rank; and the fendal fortress on 
the west side of the town, the fortified wall of 
the town, with its eastern and western bars, testifying 
its importance in a sicu'a;- light. In the year 
1316* the manor of Rowed reverted to the crown, 
from whence it was assigned to M a* ^aret de 
Audley, Si>ter to the late Earl, an 1 niece to the 
Sovereign. In the year H30, thi* Lady and her 
husband were required to substanti ite their litlo 
to the manorial, and mercate privi'eges they 
exercised; which they effected, by pleading im- 
memorial prescription. In consequence of the 
failure of mile issue, tie man r now passed by 
vittueofa marriage settlement, to the family of 
Stafford, anno 1352. Shortly after this event 
the b gonial family of Stafford was elevated to ine 
dukedom of Buckirgham arid retailed pos es*ioa 
of the minor of; Rowell nea ly wo c nturies ; 
but on the l7th o' Mty, 152 !, the la<t Duke, 
of Buckingham of that race, having been attainted 
of high treason, and condemned to death, un- 
derwent his sentence U|joii Tower hill, when 
the hundred, and manor of Koth well, as cu>tomary 
in such cases became forfeited to the Crown. One 
of the charges against this nobleman, "was the 
tempi nig Fnar Hopkins to mike tiaitorous pro- 
phecies. Towards the close of the re-gii of He..ry 
8th, the manor was granted to Lord Par of Horton, 
at wuooe deafh it devolved on 'lie family of 
Tresham. Since Ihe days of ihe Clare*, no 



HUNDRED OF ROTHWELL, OTHERWISE R'JWEIL 5 

mano ial lord had manifested so continued a 
desire to advance the prosperity of }he inhabit 
ants, and improve the condition of the town of 
R>well,as Sir Thomas TYesham. We find hit* 
commencing the erection of a town hall, ar.d 
interesting himself materially in the welfare of the 
school, established a short time previously by the 
pious Owen B-»gsdaie. Unfortunately these bene- 
ficent intentions were frustraed bv his death in 
1077. It does not appear clear whether the manor 
passed by a treasonable conviction, or by failure 
of direct issue, to the crown ; but in the reign of 
James 1st we find it purchased from thai monarch 
by a gentleman named Hi II, in whose family it 
continued fo some generations. When Bridges 
in 1791 wrote his admirable history of North- 
amptonshire, lis described the Church Register 
as commencing in 1614; if this be correct, the 
earlier volumes must be either stolen or destroyed, 
for after very diligent search the eariest found by 
the present author is dated 1708, and on its first 
page is the following note by the then Vicar % 
" On Sunday Sept 30 1750, we were terribly alarm- 
ed with a violent shock of an earthquake. It wa9 
felt at tiiis town about half an hour past 12 at 
noon. I was at that time administering the Holy 
Sacrament and was with the whole congregation 
in the greatest surprise. Its fit st approach was 
heard like a mighty wind or rather the driving of 
manv Coaches. The motion was from S. W. to 
N. E. Its continuance was as near as I could 
judge about half a minute, and was very dreadful, 
and awful. 

M The earth was sensibly perreived to heave under 
our feet The church tottered from its foundation, 
and the east window shook most violently, as if all 



6 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

was coming down, and from the roof which we 
thought was falling in, we heard dreadful crack- 
ings three or four times a? if ^reat prodigious 
weights were flung upon it. In fear and trembling 
we expected instant death, either by being crushed 
under the ruins of the chu»ch, or el>e that we 
should have been swallowed up alive ; but as 
Almighty God directed, no harm happen'cl unto us, 
They who were in the Churches, or houses were 
more sensibly affected, and felt it most than those 
who were walking. It was felt in all the neigh- 
bouring towns of Northamptonshire, and Leices- 
tershire. 

"THOS. BARNETT, 

" VICAR." 
Memorandum. Mrs. Judith Lant, of Thorpe 
Underwood who died December the 31 >t 1705, did 
give to the Vicarage of Rohwell ten pounds a year 
to be paid out of her personal estate to the Vicar oj 
Roth well so long as he shall preach th re twice a 
Sunday which bounty was first enjoy'd by me. 

JOSEPH CATT£LL,M. A. 

VICAR OF ROTH WELL. 



Rothwell Terrier 1736. 
A Vicarage house 

A little yard about four yards square, 
A garden measuring about 17 poles and a half 
The Churchyard. 

Memorandum. Samuel Tebbutt left six Bibles, &c. 
a year to the Parish or Poor of Roth well. 

July ye <>, 1708, 
Sir John Humble Bart of Thorpe Underwood did 



HUNDRK.DOF ROTHWELL, OTHERWISE ROWtLL. 7 

then give to the parish Church of Rothwell three 
pieces of plate namely a large cup, a cover for the 
same, and a plate or salver for the bread, being 
all double gilt with gold. Those were delivered 
into the hands of Joseph Cattell M. A. Vicar of 
Rothwell, and Thomas Letts, and Antony Timpson, 
Churchwardens. 



Mrs. Anne Wei don of Rothwell Widdow did 
give to the parish Church of Rothwell aforesaid one 
large silver cup delivered into my hands for the use 
oi the Holy Commumion, Jos Cattell M. A Vicar. 



On the 1 9th April 1715, the clerk, apparently 
astonished at the increasing population records the 
baptism of eight children, and appends this note of 
admiration " These 8 was ail at the iont together 
and baptised ! 

In 1756. The Small-pox appears to have 
raged to a seriousty fatal extent, as again in 17b3 # 



May ye 27. 1731. We whose names are under- 
written did go the Vicar's perambulation round 
the town, together with a great many boys, wit- 
ness our hands: — Edward Chapman Vicar. Th*». 
Ponder, Tho. Yorke, Wm. Vialls, Wm. Palmer, 
John Vialls, Richard Johnson, Anthony Timpson 
Ju. Joseph Stanyonue John Robinson. Sam 
Tompson. 

May 23, 1715. We whose names are under- 
written did go the Vicar's perambulation round th 9 
Town, and the bounds of the Parish to new Bottl e 



8 COUNT*' OF NORTHAMPTON 

bridge on Thorpe Underwood side, together with a 
great many boys witness our hands, 
Thos Barnett Vicar. 
These are all the notabilia existing in the present 
registers ; but we learn from other sources that in 
1 660 the spire of the church fell down, carrying 
before it in its descent six bays of the church, 
and that in 1673 the transepts were taken down. 
In the churchyard may still be seen an elaborately 
sculptured tomb which formerly stood at the further 
extremity of the south aisle. 

CHAPTER 2nd, 
PRESENT STATE OF ROWELl, 1848. 

Situated in the hundred of the same name, in the 
County of Northampton, and included in the 
Kettering Union, this parish at the census 1841, 
contained 2,939 inhabitants, 4,430 acres of laud, 
upwards of 500 houses, and returned assessed pro- 
perty to the amount of £8.105. The poor rate may 
probably be correctly estimated at something more 
than £800 per annum. It ic turns two members 
to the Board of Guardians, and has resident 
medical, and relieving officers :— 

A recent attempt to restore the disused marker, 
appears to have contributed materially to the 
improvement of the town, and although want 
of unanimity has for the present obstructed to 
laudable an attempt, it must be obvious to all, that 
a better scheme for increasing the trade of the 
town, and advancing the prosperity of its inhabitant*, 
could scarcely have been devised. The requirements 
of a numerous population such as is collected 
within the immediate neighbourhood, (and num- 
bering upwards of 5000, with the inhabitants of 



Hundred of rothwell, otherwise roWi:lL 9 

Loddington, Harrington, and Desborough,) can 
scarcely be met by distant markets, the nearest i^f 
which, Kettering, is so far removed as to render a 
journey thither a serious inroad on the time of the 
labouring classes. 

The approach to ftoweli frorii the crest of hill to 
the south, on which the villages of Thorpe Malsor 
and Loddington are situated, is very pleasing. 
The ancient town extends its timeworn buildings 
in a long un broken line eastward, in the centre of 
which, the square massive tower and light clerestory 
of the church, the gables of Jesus* Hospital, and 
the fine fr- nt of the ancient manor house, are 
prominent and picturesque object i. The principal 
deficiences of the town are its squalid entrances on 
the Orion, Glendon, and Rush ton sides: — its 
disgraceful stiteof drainage (to which I sha'l again 
have to revert when treating on Sa.latory matters) 
and the unsafe and dangerous condition of many 
of the foot-paths. To find fault with the stylo of 
building generally, the massive stone walls, acutely 
pitched and straw thatched roofs of the houses, 
woald be merely to complain of a style of building 
anciently inconvenient, and unhealthy; and which 
prevails, more or less, thoughout the whole county; 
and conveys to the mind of a stranger an impression 
of poverty, which a minute acquaintance wirh the 
inhabitants happily fails to confirm. Two brickyards 
in the outskirts of the town, are now in active 
operation, and gradually as the ill constructed 
dwellings of a past age yield to decay, thry are 
replaced by structures better adapted to the personal 
comfort, and social condition of their inmates; a 
fact well understood by those who are familiar with 
the various evils connected with badly contrived, 
and crowded domiciles. 



a 



10 COUNTY Of NORTtlAMfrTOfc. 

THE CHURCH OFTHE HOLY TRINITY. 

Upwards of six centuries have elapsed, since 
this once superb structure received its completion 
at the hands of its pious Architects, It has not 
indeed descended to us unscathed by time, n^r un- 
mutdated by accident. Many of the sepulchral 
chapels with* the elaborately'' sculptured transepts 
have suffered by the former, and the total clestruc 
tiort ol the lofty spire in 1660 fiom lightning is i 
melancholy instdnce of its deterioration by the 
latter cause* 

There seems little doubt, that, originally, this 
edifice must have held high rank in an ace, which 
more than any other, was characterized by the 
nuu.ber and beauty of it Sacred edifices. 

Without p etending to Cathedral magnificence, 
the Church ot Rothweil Was evidently constructed 
on the most liberal scale ; and affords an additional 
proof to the already convincing evidence, of the 
former importance of a district, in which such 
ample provision was made foi the spintual welfare 
of its inhabitants. Despite of the dilapidations 
of time, the ruinous effect of casualty, and worse 
than all, the disfiguring metamorphosis of in- 
j idicious repai s ; it is still an easy task to trace 
the extent of the original edifice. 

Enuring the west door, soma three centuries 
since probably the eye of the spectator would 
have embraced the whole space from the portal 
even to the hi-h altar, checquered only by the 
varied dyes which in those days of monastic 
magnificence streamed through the richly painted 
windows, faintly reproducing their fainted le-ends 
on the cold marble of the echoing aisles. And 
beautiful indeed must have been the clustering 
pillars, with their capitals of drooping foliage, and 



5 



HUNDRED OF ROTIIWELL, OTHERWISE HOWELL. 11 

the lofty arches reaching into darkness, when 
viewed in that dim mysterious light. On the 
right of the altar opposite the lowly portal of the 
vestiary, and the Chapel of our Lady of Sorrows, 
may still be seen the triple piscina, and the 
quadruple sedile. The finely carved oaken stalls 
with their anti somniferous seats, minutely sculp- 
tured quatrefoils. and grotesque finials, are in all 
probability not far removed from their ancient 
situation. Above ihese,lookir,g westward, was then 
the Tood-loft; from which, the ima^e of Him who 
died to save an universe, gazed downward on the 
kneeling multitude with that expression of silent 
agony, it was the principal, and generally success- 
ful endeavour of the sculptor to pourtray. Stretch- 
ing noith and south were the transepts, each 
probably terminated by its own peculiar altar, 
and here, and there, at intervals along the aisles, 
would be the altar tombs of the Clares, the Andleys, 
and the Statfbrds, each with its recumbent effigy 
of the stalwart warrior at rest beneath, the 
gauntleted hands clasped in prayer and pointed 
heavenward, whilst from the lofty rereward wall 
would silently depend the empty suit of mail, 
the rusted weapon, and the tattered banner. Of 
the many Chapels, which from traces against the 
main walls appear to have been once annexed to 
the buildings, two only remain. That of Saunders, 
now used as the Vestry, and that of the Mater- 
doloris. Beneath the South aisle, is all that 
remains of the funeral crypt which possibly, may 
- once have extended under the entiie circumference 
of the building. Such was Rowell church : — We 
have now to describe it as it appears in our day. 
In the year 1834 or 5, the editice had fallen into 
so ruinou? a condition, that measures for arresting 



12 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

farther decay, and indeed for the decent perform- 
ance of the divine services, were imperatively 
required, ft is much to the creda of all the 
parties concerned, that the good work was neither 
imperfectly, nor grudgingly completed. A tablet 
over the vestry dojr, which will be noticed in its 
proper place, records this fact, and the quantity 
of additional room provided for the poorer membeis 
of the Congregation. 

It has been mentioned elsewhere, that the 
Roctorial tithes having passed into lay han is 
conveyed with them the obligation on the pos- 
sessor, of keeping in repair the chancel. It is said 
to be the intention of the gentleman with whom 
that responsibility at present rests, speedily tj 
restrain the lapid progress of decay which daily 
threatens, more and more, the destruction of this, 
the finest portion of the sacred pile ; and it is 
earnestly to be hoped, that some future historian 
may have the pleasing task of recording the per- 
formance of so sacred a duty. 

The dimensions <»f the Chancel, (no part of 
which is now used for divine service) are, length 
84- feet, bread: h 22 feet, and altitude probably 
not short of 70 feet. It is in a state of most 
lamentable dec*y, a mere receptacle of benches, 
ladders, brushes and a fire Engine ! The damp 
has c >rr ded the brasses, obscured the in- 
scriptions, and tarnished the rich heraldic tinc- 
tures, while the funeral hatchments, mouldering in 
their frames, wave, their decaying tatters in the 
breeze which finds entrance through many a 
crevice in the imperfect roof. 

The altar is temoved, though the rails before 
it still remain, and under the lofty east window, 



Hundred of kothwell, otherwise rowell. 13 

the inferior fifth of which is filled in with plaister, 
immediately above the base splay, within an 
arabesque border of black, brown, and blue, is this 
inscription, though barely legible: 

Luke 22. V. 19. 

This do in 
Remembrauce 

of me surmounted by a 
Cherub rudely depicted 

The funeral Hatchments suspended in the Chancel 
a re five in number. 

1st. Within a lozenge Gu, a Chev engr Erm 
betw 3 Garbs Or in the centre point a canton 
Arg for difference, being the Escutcheon of 
Elizabeth widow of Dr. Hill, Rector of Thorpe 
Malsor, and Kellma r sh. 

2nd. The arms of Hill, and on an Escutcheon 
of pretence the arms of Medlycote ; being the 
hatchment of Barbara wife of Geo. Hill, Serjeant 
at Law. 

3rd. The same with the addition of the cresfc- 
a dove rising, Arg, in the beak an olive branch 
ppr being the escutcheon of the above named 
Serjeant Hiil. 

4th. Sa, a stag trippant Or, on a chief indented 
of the second, an inescutch Arg charged with the 
emblem of baronetage a hand Sanguine ; impaling 
Az y 3 Gauntlets Or, being the escutcheon of Dame 
Eliz h , Humble wife to Sir W. Humble, Bart, and 
daughter to Gilbert Lord Barnard, of Barnard 
Castle, Co Durham. 

5th. The same arms with the addition of the 
crest: a demi Stag saliant, gorged with a chaplet 



14 county of Northampton. 

of laurel ppr, being the hatchment of the said 
Sir R. Humble. 



Monumental inscriptions in the Chancel. 

Before the altar rails with folded bauds in the 
gesture of prayer, attired in the full vestments of 
a Romish priest, the head resting upon a pillow 
supported by two Seraphs, lies the effigy in brass 
of William de Rothwelle, one of the earliest 
Capellani, Beneath in the Latin and Norman 
dialects is the following inscription : — 

Nunc Xte te peto misere queso qui 
venisti redime reditum noli dapnare 
me tuu redeptu. 

* Pur 'Faime William de Rothwelle qi cy 
Est sepule jadis Erchdiakn de Essex 
Provendier de Cropwych Ferryng t Valmefcon 
anoinePriefz au Roi de sloire 
qe de lui eneyt pj te en honour 
de qi devoutement dites Pater noster 

Et Ave 

M. S. 

Conduntur hie exuviae 

Edvardi Hill Armigeri Filii 

Edvardi Hill Arm, cujus pietate 

Memorabilia antecssor 

Martinii Hill, Rec f or de Agserby 

in com Leicestrise primus in eadem 

* William de Rothwelle died 4*& of ihe Nones of 

August, -4S^ 







S^FirCHRAI BPuASS. ROWELL CHURCH. I£ 20. 



REDUCED -O 10 r^OVl THE O Rl Gl (M A L . B Y W. ' 



ftCTNBR&D OF ROTIlWELL, OTHERWISE ROWELt. 13 

Comitatu religionis erat reformatae concionator 

quam Sumptibus properiis et ingenio propagavit 

E* Johanne Hill de Hounston in Com Sbmer 

-set milite orinndus, qui in re milifari honori 

-fice versatus est sub illostri regno Edvardi tertii 

Gallorum donietoris. Obiit 28 die Aprilis Anno 

Oliristi 1709. 

Posu't Frater Robertas Administrator 



t * 



M. S. 

Susannge Edvardi Hill Armig 

Consortis 

Jbhannis Maunsel de Thorpe Armig 

Filiae 

Undeviginti liberorum 

Parentis 
Obiit xxvi die Octobris 

S Domini 1731 
Anno 1 jstatis 88. 



Here lyeth 

Edward Hill 

_ departed, 



Here lveth the body of Mr. John Hill Son &t 
Edward Hill, Esq., in Rowell, in the County of 
Northampton, and Susanna hi<= wife, who clved ye 
26 of November, Anno 1701, jEtatis Sua? 34. 



10 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 



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J8 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

At the top, within a lozenge, are the arms of 
Lane. Per pale Az and Gu, three Saltiers Arg . 
Beneath is an allegorical basso-rilicvo •'> A lamh 
crowing a river, and in the firmament two Suns, 
one in meridian altitude f the other in perigee 

On a handsome mural monument surmounted 
by the proper arms much defaced wit h a nowed 
snake for crest, is the following epitaph. 

Memorise 
Benemerentis mariti Andreoe Lant 
Armigeride Thorpe Underwood, hujus oppidi* 
Coofiniis domini. Pietatiset arrucitiarum 
Honestissimo cultu celeherrimi; Qui 17° die 
Jai.uarii, An Dom 1694, et 57° eeUtis, 
Mortali* esse desiit, et terr.ie redidit hie 
Depositas exuvias, Immortalis gloriae novis 
Increments resuscitandas cum Juditha 
Uxore suaunica ; 35 Anno3 dulcissimarn vltam 
Traduxerat, et ex ea susoeperat novem 
liberos, casti thalami charis-ima pignora 
Quorum Robertas, secandus Robertas, Juditha 
Eleonora, Anna, et Maria pulvere viciuo 
Repositi quiescunt. Elizabethan!, Catharinam. 
et Saram, familioe spem, et cohseredes superstates 
Reliquit; quarum primam Francisc/is Lane 

De Glendon Armig Uxorem duxerat. 
Sic tu vivas viato-, ut tibi Posleri 
Benedicant, et cseli mortuo benefaciant, 
Posuit Juditha Lant, elefuncti 
Vidva mxrens. 
Hie etiam deponunturreliquip? Juditha? Lant supra memoratsfc 

Qme piam efflavit animam trigesimo primo d*- Decembris 

* Note the word Oppidum in the Latin language is 
generally c ms trued a walled town, a town of importance ; 
appdulum being used to denote a town of interior- 
consequence* 



HUNDRED OF ROTH WELL, OTHERWISE ROWELL. 19 

Anno Domini 1705 

Act 9, 36. This wo a, an was full of good works 

and alms deeds which she did. 

Here lyeth the body of 

Dorothy Hill Daughter of 

Edward Hill Esqe Sen r who 

departel this life January the 

fifth Anno Dom 1701 in the 

21 yeare of her age 

m, s: 

Requiescit hie firma Spa 

Beatse Re?urieetionis 
Susannah Hill filia natu 
Maxima Edvardi Hill Arm 
Lecessit Julii 26 1706 



Francis Lane Esqe 

Eldest son of Francis 

Lane, of Glendon, Esqe, married 

Elizabeth the Daughter 

of Andrew Lant of Thorpe 

Underwood Esqe, died 

without issue, Feby the 12th, 

1698L 



Here lyeth the body of Mrs. 

Mary Lane, reliet of Francis 

Lane Sen?, late of Glendoa 

Esq deceased. She dyed 

<,>n the third day of July, 

in the yeare of uur Lord 

1697, 

iEtatis Suae 60 



20 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

Here lyeth the body of 

Francis Lane Sen r of Glendon 

Esqe, who was buried Nov 

the 29 th , in the yeare of our 

Lord 1689 

jEtatis Sui 61 



Sarah Hill, 
youngest daughter of 
Edward Hill of Howell 
Esqe, died February 26 th , 

}729 

Here 
lyeth the body of 

Mary Cecil I, 
one of ye daughters 
of Edward Hill Esqe, 
who departed this life 
December the 30% 
1746, 
Aged 61 years. 



M. S. 

Exuvice Aenitis Hill 

Edvardi Hill Armigeri 

Filiae. 

Ccelibem se servavit 

Quo sex viduas adoptaret 

Cohseredes 

Bonis et egenis Arnica 

Amicum (spes est) paravit 

Deum 

Obiit Janvar 27: 1733. 



HUNDRED OF ROTllW ELL, OTHERWISE ROWELL. 21 

Anna Ives 

Reverendi Panli Ives L. L. D. 

Uxor, 

Edvardi Hill Armigeri 

Filia, 

Piam efflavit animam, 19° Die 

Septembris, 

1732. 



In 

affectionate remembrance 

of 

Abraham Billson, 

who departed this life 

January 6» 1835 ; 

in the 43 rd year oi his age. 

late Surgeon 

RothweSl. 



In 

memory of 

Thomas Henry Billson, 

who died July 18. 1831, 

in the 6 th jear of his age. 

Also of 

Sarah wife of Abraham Billson, 

who departed this life 

December 17*, 1836, 

Aged 33 years, 



Here are deposited the remains of 

John Hill, L. L. D. who died April 7 th 1793, 

Rector of Thorpe Malsor and Kelmarsh 

both in the county of Northampton ; 

and one of the Prebendaries of Wolverhampton. 



22 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTtifc. 

The care of the parish es being small, his vacant 
hours were chiefly employed in the execution 

of the office of a Justice of the Peace ; which 

He discharged with distinguished ability, and the 

utmost integrity. During his residence at Thorpe, 

which was near 30 years, it was the business 

and pleasure of his life* to instruct the 

ignorant in their civil and religious duty; 

and to a?sist and protectthe innocent and distressed 

Here aho are deposited the remains 

of Elizabeth Hill his wire, 

who departed this life the 19^ Sept 1798 

In her conduct all the Christian virtues were 

most eminently displayed and to her the words of 

the poet very j ustl y apply ; 

" Of softest manners^ unaffected mind 

Lover of peace, and friend of human kind" 

She was the second daughter and one cf the Coheiresses 

of 1 homas Medlycott Esq. 

of Cottingham, in the County of Northampton* 



Sacred to the memory of 
Geonre Hill Esq J-ord of this Manor and Hundred ; 
and for 35 years his Majesty's ancient Sergeaut at Law. 

His superior Knowledge 
Founded on Tully, and the best ancients Moralists, 
Confirmed by the study of our first professional writers 

and arranged in a memorv uncommonly clear, 

st imp'd his le^al opinions with the highest authority; 

while a simplicity of manner peculiarly bis own, 

made him in habits, in principles, and in virtues, 

so different from the fleeting fashions of the day, 

as to command respect from all that knew bim. 

Near her husband reposes Barbara Hill Medlycott, 

Heiress of the Medlycott3 of Cottingham, 



HUNDRED OF ROTRWELL OTHERWISE ROVVELL 23 

and adorned with the milder domestic virtues 

of the wife, the mother, and the Christian. 

He died Feby, 21 st 1808, aged 92. 

She died Aug, iO tb 1800, aged 79. 

Beneath are these arms. Quarterly. First, Gules 
a Chevron engrailed Ermine, between three Garbs, 
Or: — Second, Sable, a Fes s, Or, between three 
Cinquefoils Argent : On a Canton Ermine, a lion 
rampant, Sable— Third, Paly of six pieces, Azure 
and Argent ; on a chief Gules, a lion passant Or. 
Fourth, Argent, a Chevron betweenth.ee Maunches 
Sable.... On an escutcheon of pretence are the 
arms of Medlycott, viz. Per Pale, and per Fess 
indented, Gules, and Azure, three lioncels rampant 
Argent.— 



Here lyeth the body of Sir John Humble 
Barroneght who departed this life February 
the 7th, Anno Dona 1723, in the 44* year of 

his age ; 

who married Sarah the daughter of Andrew 

Lant Esq. grandaughter of Richard Andrews 

of Thorpe Underwood in Northamptonshire ; 

by whom he had five children, four Sons, 

and one Daughter, of which there is now 

living, Sir William Humble Barroneght, 

and Mary his Sister. 

Here also lyeth the bodyes of two Sons 

Lante and John. 

Above are these arms. For Humble, Sable, a 
Stag trippant Or, on a chief dancettee Argent, a 
trefoil Vert ; impaling, for Lant, Per pale Argent, 
and Gules, a Cross engrailed, counterchanged, in 
the dexter chief, a c ? nquefoil of the second.— 



24 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

Near this place 
are 
Deposited the remains of 
Sir William Humble Bar 1 , 
and of his wife 
The HonUe Dame Elizabeth Humble, 
second daughter 
of the late Right Hon ble Gilbert Lord Barnard, 
of Barnard Castle in the County of Durham. 
They intermarried in the year 1732, 
and had issue two sons, 
Robert and John who died in their childhood, 
and lie here interred 
with their tender and worthy parents, 
in the month of October, 1742, 
Sir William Humble 
soon after departed this life, 
and his afflicted widow 
the said Dame Elizabeth Humble, 
Exchanged this troublesome wo: Id 
for one of perpetual feiieity, 
on the 22 wd of February, 
in the year of our Lord 

mo - 1 

Lant, et Johannes Humble 
Summse spei eximise formse p . . r • 
f filii Johannis Humble Bar. . . . 
& Sarse uxoris suae sub hoc lap. . . . 
quasi in cunabulis conquiescunt 
Lant quinquennis obiit March 24° 1710 
Johannes quadriennis Augusti 5°, 1711 
Talium, est regnum ceelorum 
Above are the Arms of Humble, and on an 
escutcheon of pretence, those of. Lant. 






HUNDRED OF ROTHWELL, OTHERWISE ROWELL. 25 

Here 

Lyeth the body of Richard Andrew of 

Thorp Underwood Esq 1 , the third son 

of Robert Andrew of Harleston in ye 

County of Northampton Esq r . He died 

the 6 th of July, Anno 1654, in the 75 th 

year of his age. 

Here 

Lyeth also the body of Andrew Lant 
of Thorp Underwood Esq*, son of Robert 

Lant Esq r . and grandson of the above 
mentioned Richard Andrew : He departed 

this life the 17 of January 169$ in ye 57 
year of his age. 

In memory of William the son of 

Charles Stevens Gent, by Mary his wife; 

Died Aug. 2 nd 1768, Aged 48 years. 



In memory of Edward Stevens, who died ye 
22^ April, 1761> Aged 69 § 

In memory of Joseph, son of Charles Stevens Gent, 
by Frances his wife ; He died May 4, 1763, 
Aged 34. 
Above are these Arms, A Sling, between two 
Pheons barbed. Crest, A Fox passant, holding in 
his teeth an arrow. 

In memory of Joseph Stevens, Gent, 
he died 5 th Jan*., 1J52, Aged 85. 
In memory of Charles Stevens 
died 7 th of March 1752, Aged 66, 
Also of Frances his wife, who 
C2 



26 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

died 10* Nov* 1761, Aged 74. 

Above are the same arms. 



M. S. 
of Annie Caroline Cocksedge, wife of 
Thomas Abraham Cocksedge Esq., Surgeon 
obii* Dec 1 ., 28, 1841. Aged btf. 

In memory of Sarah the wife of George Tupman 
Died Nov. v 4th, 1765. Aged 72, 
" Testerdaj's past, to morrow is not thine, 
This day thy life to virtuous acts incline." 

Bridges describes several monuments as visible in 
the chancel at the date of his History of North- 
amptonshire, of which no traces now remain.— 

THE CHAPEL OF THE MATER DOLORIS, 
is on the North side of the Chancel. The bracket 
on which the statue of the Virgin formerly was 
placed is still undisturbed ; having beneath it a 
trifoliated piscina, surmounted by a cherubs head. 
It is lighted by two windows in the north wall, 
a very find one at the eastern extremity having 
been long since filled in with plaister ; and where 
the coats of whitewash have mouldered away, the 
walls beneath appear to have been painted in 
arabesque. In the north wall is a low Arch such 
as formerly surmounted the tombs of ecclesiastics, 
and the probability that it once served such a 
purpose, is strengthened by the fact of a 
sareophagus Lid, on which is sculptured m basso 
rilievoanabbatial cross, having been found here. 
The entire floor is laised three feet higher than 
the body of the church, There are two monu- 
mental inscriptions in this portion of the sacred 
pile the first (which is scarcely legible) to the 



HUNDRED OF ROTBlWELL OTHERWISE ROYVELL 27 

memory of Thomas Ponder, Gentleman, the 
philanthropic founder of Ponder's Alms houses 
hereafUf to be noticed ; and the second, is as 
follows. 

Beneath 

this stone lie the remains of 

Matilda Harriet 

only child of the Hevd. A Macpherson, B.D, 

Vicar of this parish, and 

Caroline his wife 

Born Oct. 26th, 1834; 

Died June 29th, 1S43; 

Forgive, blest shade, the tributary tear, 

That mourns thy exit from a World like this; 

Forgive the wish that would have kept thee here, 

And stay'd thy progress to the seats of bliss. 

Adjoining this Chapel is the ancient 

Sacristy, 
a small apartment 6 yards long, by 3 in breadth : 
It has a ruined fire place, a small square window 
with ancient shutters, and is now employed by the 
Sexton for the reception of his spades, mattocks, 

| &c. Formerly it was probably used as a shelter 
by the persons employed to watch the graves of 
the newly interred. The ponderous door leading 
hence into the Chancel, with its ancient lock and 
key, are worthy of notice — 

THE NAVE OF THE CHURCH, 
With portions of the North and South Aisles, are 
all now used during the celebration of Divine 
Service ; so much is the noble edifice curtailed 

! of its fair proportions — It is entered beneath the 

tower by an insignificant, low, and rounded arch, 

the original magnificent western approach having 

been sacrificed in the construction ot an organ 

C3. 



28 county of Northampton. 

gallery, and belfry ; indeed the fine gra : ned roof, 
with its scroll bearing cherubim, < an on'y be se. n 
by ascending to the latter apartment. At the 
point of intersection of the several entrances from 
the West, North, and South, the Font is very 
judiciously placed; Jt is a hexagonal pillar, 
placed upon a basement from which spring six 
pilasters surmounted by palm leaf capitals, and 
eonnecied by a docketed and indented friezs : 

This is repeated in miniature about a foot from 
the surface, and the whole is terminated by a 
leaded aperture sufficient to permit the total 
immersion of an infant. 

There is only one Escutcheon in ihis portion of 
rhe Church — It is suspended from the north wall, 
and is that of the. Hou ble Barbara C)cktyne 
Me ilyeott — Within a lozenge: quarterly, 
Ut, and 4th, Ardent, three lucks, Gule> ; 2nd, 
and 3rd Gules, Three Lioncels passant guardant 
per pale, Or, and argent : On an escutcheon of * 
pretence the lady's paternal arms. 
Within the altar rails is a small but handsome 
•mural mounmenl with the following elegant epitaph. 
In a vault on the right side of the altar 
are deposited the remains ot 
The Hou ble Barbara Cockayne Medlycott, 
jReHctofthe Hori Wc William Ct ckayne of Rushton 
Hall in this County, Daughter of George Hi.l 
Esq™ King's Ancient Serjeant at law, and of Anne 
Baib?ra his wile Lady cfthe Manor and Hundud 
of Rowell. 

The numerons descendants and friends of this * 
justly venerated lady need no memorial of those 
distinguished qualities which are in<lelib!y engraven 
on their hearts: vet posterity should be incited to 
emulate the *te idy principle, clear discernment 



HUKDREDOF ftOTHWELL, OTHERWISE UOWELL. 29 

and judicious beneficence which so conspicuously 

marked her character : 
Let the reader also bear in mind that the survivors 
'•* Sorrow not, even as those which have no hope*' 

for the)' humbly trust 
That though the merits and mediation of her 

blessed Redeemer, 
She has passed from a life of Christian virtue to a 

bright and glorious immortality. 

She died at Northampton on the 2d day oi June 1P38 

Aged 85 years. 

In an escutcheon beneath the inscription, are 

the arms just de:?cribed, the only difference being 

the impalement of the paternal coat. 

On a slab near the toot of the pulpit stairs, is 
the tulrbw'ing-v- 

In memory 

of Nathanael Hill, Clerk, 

fourth son of Edward Hill, 

Esq, who died April 28, 1732, 

also of Mrs. Elizabeth Hill, 

VVjfeof the said Nathanael 

Hill, who dyed July 20 1753. 

In the north aisle-^ 

Sami Scriven Gent. 

) 11,1 690. 

B ?rn > December 
Ded ) 17, 1713. 

In memory of 

Thomas Dickens Gent. 

who departed this life 

January 31st 1793, 

in ihe 81st year of his age, 



Here lies the body of George Daggett, Gent. 



30 COITNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

the husband of Elizabeth Daggett, 

who departed this life Feb 10, 1 747. 

Aged 33 years. 

Memento Mori. 



At the western extremity of this aisle, is the 
small door way which once led to the turnpike 
stair of the Campanile :-^Over the north door, is 
this table of Benefactions to the Parish of Rothwell, 
Richard Andrews Esq. of Thorpe Underwood, 
by will dated the 19th of January 1653, bequeathed 
to the poor of the parish of Roth well, the sum of 
£160; to be laid out audimploy'd for the advantage 
of the said poor. 

Edward Hunt, late of Broughton, died Nov. the 
23rd,) 1674, and by will did give and bequeath the 
sum of 8, 13, 4 a year, to 80 poor widows, aged 
persons, and children of this parish, to be paid 
halfyearly. James Cooper, late of W'eldon, died 
March 22, 1727, and by will left to the poor of 
Ilothwell, 60 dozens of bread yearly for ever. 
Mrs Agpes Hill late of Rothwell, did by will 
dated the 30th of July, 1728, bequeath the sum of 
£700, to be laid out in the purchase of freehold 
lands, or tenements, for the benefit of six poor 
widows of this parish. 

Joseph Beutham, Clerk, late of Broughton, by will 
did give and appoint the sum of 10s. yearly, to be 
paid to the poor of this parish, on the 29th of May. 

J^ear the Font are the following — » 

H. S S. 

Marine Chapman 

Exuviae. 

1126, 



HUNDRED OF R0TI1WELL, OTHERWISE ROWEEL. 3 £ 

Here 

lieih intprr'd the body of 

David Croysdil 

Gent. 

who departed this life 

Uie 17th of December, 176J, 

Aged 58. 



Here 

lieth the re main a of 

Elizabeth Chapman, the 

wife ol Edward Chapman, 

and daughter of Jonathan 

Warner of North am pi en, Gent. 

who departed this life- the I2th day of March, 

1765. 

in the 77th year of her age, 

H. S. S. 

Reliquiae Edvardi Chapman, A. M. 

Hujus Ecclesise Vicaiii : 

Viri 

In Uteris Scicn^ ac Humanis, 

Hand mediocriter vers^ti ; 

Uxorem duxit Elizabetham, 

Jonathan Warner de North ton ia 

Gent, 

Filiam natu minorem : 

Ex qua, tres suscepit liberps ; 

Horum, duo sunt superstites. 

Obiit Martii die 5 t0 \. D. 1740, 

AEtatis 47. 

In memory of 
Thomas Chapman Esq*?, 



32 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

the son of the Revd. M r . 

Edward Chapman, 

late Vicar of this parish, 

by Elizabeth his wife; 

who departed this life 

the 14th day of Nov 1771, 

in the 42nd. year of his age. 



At the entranpe of the inner western door, are 
two stone slabs, from which the Sepulchral brasses 
have been removed. 

On a mural tablet above the South 4oor, is this 
inscription—? 

To the right of this Tablet 
are interr'd the remains 
of Eliza Bosworth, wife 
cf Willian Bosworth Clerk; 
who died 2nd April, 1816.- 

Aged 37. 
Being taught of God, and influenced by 
Pis grace, she was excelled by tew, for 
unaffected piety, meekness of spirit, 
patience under sufferings, 
and exemptay conduct in the 

Discharge of relative duties. 
Asramst the South wall is the following 
Extract from the will of Francis Furtesqne 
Turvile Esq, pf Bosworth Hall, in the Coumy 
Leicester.^ — Francis Fortesque Turvile Esq, by 
will bearing date 20tii day of May, 1829, gave 
the sum of One hundred pounds at interest, in 
the purchase of Three pounds per Centum 
Consolidated Bank Annuities, in the names of 
such two or more persons as shall be appo'nted 
at a vestry meeting, to be hojden for the parish 
of ftqthwejl, otherwise Rowell, in the County of 



HUNDRED OF RGTllVVELL, OtllEIiWlS^ RO\V£tL. 33 

Northampton : And new Trustees to be from 
time to time appointed in like manner, and the 
said last mentioned annuities to be held upou 
Trust, that the persons for the time being, id 
whose names the same shall be invested, do and 
shall pay ihe dividends and annual income 
thereof, to the officiating Clergyman ai.d 
Churchwardens for the time being, of the said 
parish of Itothwell, otherwise Uovvell ; to be by 
them Laid out at Christmas, in every year, in 
the purchase of Coals, to be given to such poor 
persons of the said last mentioned paiish, as the 
said Clergyman and Churchwardens for the time 
bein^, or the m Jor part of them, so as the 
Clergyman be one, shall in their discretion deem 
the most proper objects. — The above sum is 
invested in the three per cent Annuities, in the 
names of 




Tmstces. 
April, 3**, 1840. 



On Slabs at the extremity of the S. Aisle, are the 
following inscriptions* 

Underneath. 

are deposited the remains 

of the Kev d . H. Barnett, 

more than 36 years 

Vicar 

of this parish 

Who 



'3*4 COUNTY OS? NORTHAMPTON. 



Exc 

and departed this world 

.... 23. 1770 

Anno iEtafis .... 

also 

the remains of 

one of his children. 

To the pious memory of 
Mrs Mary Cattell, wife 
of Joseph Cattell, M.A. 
Vicar of this church ; 
who Exchanged this 
mortal life for a better 
Dom 1711 
Aug. 6, Anno iEtatis, 33. 
Joseph, the only child of the 
abovenamed Joseph and Mary 

Cattell, departed this life 

Feby 2. 1711, Aged 6 months. 

Joseph Cattell, M.A. y e late 

worthy Vicar of this Pa 

-rish, lyeth here also interr'd. 

Obiit Dec' A.D. 1719, 

iEtat 43, 

Be ye therefore followers of 

God as dear children 

Eph. the 6$, Ver. y e 1 st . 

Above the Vestry door, 

The Accommodation in this Church was increased 
in the year 1836, by which means 511 additional 
Sittings were obtained, and in consquence of a 
grant from the Incorporated Society for promoting 
the enlargement,building,andrep»iring of churches 




bm!it''iiii,ni- uiliiii* 




ill! 




Sanders'. Brass, Koweil Ch, 



HtmmiED OF ROTIlWJELL, OTHERWISE ROWELS, 355 

and chapels, .400 of that number are hereby declare!* 
to be free and unappropriated for ever, in addition 
to 456 sittings formerly provided, 110 of whichi 
are free*. 

A. Macpherson Vicar. 

William Haflord \ 

Charles Brown I Churchwardens. 

Robert HarTord L 

Hugh King J 



At the enhance to the Vestry on a hhie slab, ane 
tioovery elegant brasses of the time of Henry 8 th 
■ w hith the following inscripton in Black letter. 
Hie jacet Edvardus Saunders quondam 
de TIaryngtofl primus fondato? istius Cauta- 
rie et Johanna uxor eyus qui quidem Edwar- 
dus obiifc xix die Junii A D ui MDxiiii 
quor aiabus propicietur Deu-s, Amen. 
At each corner of this slab was formerly a coat 
of Arms, three of which now remain Ifct Party-- 
per-Chevron, 3 Elephant's heads erased— -2nd. 
The same arms impaling those of the wife — On. a 
Bend, 3 Oxen passant — 3rd, same as the 1st, 
These are all the monuments &c in the main body 
of the building : It is neatly pe-wed, and a tem- 
porary altar is placed beneath the aroh which once 
Surmounted the Rood loft, of which not a vestige 
remains, excepting the low archway by which it 
was formerly entered from the Chancel — The 
noble features or the western entrance, are almost 
obscured by a gallery containing a small organ, 
and a time piece — There is still much for the- 
Architect to admire in this portion of the Church ; 
its light and lofty proportions, and the many 
Sculptured brackets of Statues, swept away mo&fc 



36 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 



ir 



probablv at the Reformation. A singular trifacial 
terminal on the left ©f the present altar, is 
especially worthy of notice. 
SAUNDERS CHAPEL, OR THE SOUTH 

CHAUNTRY— 
This small building now used as a vestry, is of 
all portions of the venerable building least 
altered. The interstices between the arches have 
been closed with plaister, a door opening to the 
churchyard, and another into the South aisle, 
have been added ; and these constitute the principal 
changes undergone by this- mortuary Chapel, 
whose contents are as follow — Near the outer door 
is an altar tomb , very old, without any inscription, 
but on a lichly diapered shield in front, is a 
sculpture apparently intended to represent a 
Swan rising, from which we may conclude it 
belongs to the ducal family of Stafford, as they, 
bore for crest "A swan rising argent, beaked 
Sable, out of a ducal Coronet, " which latter 
being omitted, proves the death of the individual 
to have occurred prior to the attainment of that 
dignity by the family, and theiefore early in the 
fourteenth century. This therefore cannot be the 
original situation of the monument; — It was 
probably placed here on the demolition of the 
South Transept— Opposite this, is another altar 
tomb of later date : upon the central shield is 
sculptured a Pelican vuluing herself, between 
three Fleur de lis, two in chief, and one in base 
with the following inscription on brass 
Frange esvrieNTi pane tvvm, et egenos 
Vagosq indvcin domvm tvam. Cvm videris 
Nvdvm operi evm et carnem tvam me despexeris 
Tvnc ervmpet qvasi mane Ivmen tvvm 
Fet sanitas tva citivs oriatvr ot ante ibit 



DOMINE EOOINVRLLS 1 SERWS t 
ET OPERA OMNIA IAEA VILE - C v 
CORAM TE IDEO IN" MISERl CORAL 
A 50LA SALVS ET SPES ME 



FECi 



M ' H J^ ( J M AC N A Q V I 

Stems,', i eh 



-^i- - !F«s^ 






s pi 



7 A 



A*^ 



>' 



•' 



pkiii 



*% 



vlj A 




/■ 






i cs 



Ra gj Wales > I *ep///r// Bran, 



ROWELL CHURCH . 



HUNDRED OF ROTHWELL OTHERWISE ROWELL 37 

Faciem tvam jusiitia tva. Tvnc invoeabiset 
Dominus exavdiet te Clamabis, et dicet, ecce adsura. 

Esaie 58. 
At the lower end of the tomb is this inscription* 

Hie jacet ille vir probus et pius Owinus 
Rage>dale, qui hospitivm posvit Jesv. I3te 
Accipiensbenedictionem a Domino earn retribyit 
Pauperibus suis. Obiit primo Decern A 1591. 
On the wall over against the tomb, in a deal frame, 
is I he brass which was ence placed between 
these portions of the Epitaph : The pious founder 
of Jesus' Hospital is represented in a furred gown, 
kneeling; & above him this sentence isengraved— 
Domine ego invtilis servvs tvvs 
et omnia opera mea vilesevnt 
coram te. Ideo in misericoidia 
tva sola salvs et spes mea — 
- Behind are these arms, quaiterly 1st, and 4th ; a- 
Pelican vuluing herself between thr^e Fleur de 
lis; — 2nd, and 3rd, a doss paly of Ermine, and 
Ermiuois, between four boar's heads, couped, in 
the mouth of each an oak branch IVucted. — Crest, 
a hand grasping a plume of feathers. Motto, 
Fecit mihi magna, qui potens e^t. 

On a slab upon the floor 

Here lyeth y e body 
of Ambrose Archer, 
who died May ye I lth 
A. D. 1715. Aged 37 years. 
I waded in troubled water, 
I practised meditation, 
I have fought a good fight 
For a Crown of salvation. 
D 2. 



38 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

On a Blue slab, much worn and nearly illegible 
is the following mutilated sculpture &c. Ot the 
Arms, nothing can be deciphered, but that the 
honourable ordinary in the coat was a Chevron 
engrailed, and that the crest, is an arm embowed, 
the haund gauntleted, and grasping a baton — On 
the left is a Serpent biting its tail, the emblem of 
eternity *, and on the right is a semi recumbent 
figure of a Knight, leaning his elbow upon a 
Skull, placed upon a tripod. 

It is very singular that Bridges takes no notice 
of this monument : No more oi the epitaph than 
the following, is legible. — 
Here 

lies a sleep the body of 

S 

Rothwell 

# 17*! ".. Aged 27*/. 

An engraving of this monument will be given 
with the appendix. 



Adjoining:, is another slab still more defaced, on 

which the same arms may be traced ; and at the 

foot of these is another, on which the name of 

Hill, alone, is now legible; the full inscription 

however is given by Bridges, as follows ; — 

To the memory of 

Nathaniel Hill,*!! Gent, who 

departed this life Sep- the 1 2th, 

A.D. 170S, in the 36th year 

of his age. 

% He lived in the House called the Nuonery Rothwell. 



HUNDRED OF ROTH WELL, OTHERWISE ROWELL. 3& 

A singular square of stone, hot unlike a small 
window frame in the north wall of this Chapel, 
is decided by that learned antiquary the Pevd. 
G. A. Poole, to have once formed part of a 
confessional. 

THE BONE CAVERNS, 

Passing through a little door, on the left hand 
Side of the South porch, and descending some 
seventeen steps of a winding staircase, the Visitor 
passes through another door, into a silent vault, 
tenanted, (as is asserted by those who have taken 
the trouble to calculate,) by thirty thousand 
Skeletons. It is singular that this remarkable 
collection of human remains, (which it is well 
known, has occupied it present situation for at 
least a century and half,) should have altogether 
escaped the notice of M*. Bridges. The vault in 

.which they are deposited, is a loilg cryptiform 
structure, with a low groined roof; and the bones 
are carefully packed in alternate strata, cf skulls, 
arms, legs, arid sd forth. They were discovered, 
says the legend, something more than one hundred 
and fifty years since, by a grave digger; who 
whilst pursuing his vocation, and wielding his 
mattock, probably with unusual energy, suddenly- 
found himself precipitated into a dark abyss; 
and one may easily imagine his consternation, 
when the dust had subsided, and his eyes grown 
accustomed to the darkness, at discovering himself 

J in this awful assemblage of past generations. 

! Nothing is known with certainty respecting thfc 
date of this vast collection ; and conjecture, as 
usual, has been liberal in assigning various wild, 
and improbable reasons for its formation. I st 
it is asserted, that these remains are theconse- 
D3, 



40 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

guence of a sanguinary battle in very early 
times, and the supporters of this hypothesis pro- 
fess to discover certain peculiarties in the osseous 
structure, shewing a large proportion of the 
deceased to have been natives of a distant land ; — 
that all were in the prime of life ; — and that most 
of the skulls are fractured, as though by violent 
blows with deadly weapons. 2nd^» That these 
are the remains of the slain at Naseby-*- Each of 
these statements is easily refuted : — With respect 
to the former it is very certain, that any encounter 
so sanguinary as to result in the number of si .in 
here interred occurring between the Anglo-Saxon 
era, and our own day, could not possibly have 
escaped record. I have examined carefully, and 
at leisure, the Crania; and can discover none 
but the Meso-bregmate skulls, common to 
these islands; — and although the remains are 
those of adults, it is solely because the less densely 
organized bones of earlier life, have not resisted 
in an equal degree that decay, which has destroyed 
all the spongybones once appertaining to the 
skeletons under discussion. I have discovered 
more than one skull, in which the alveolar sockets 
were entirely absorbed, an effect of age rarely 
produced under eighty years I should imagine. 
And as to the marks of injury visible on some, 
they will be attributed I think by the impartial 
observer rather to the spade and foot of the sexton 
than the battle axe and stout arm of the ancient 
Briton. The second supposition, that they were 
brought from Naseby, requires very little notice : 
Taking the highest authenticated number of the 
slain in that engagement, it certainly did not 
exceed one thousand ; all of whom were interred 
in pits, upon the field of buttle, the following day* 



Ht'NDRED OF RCTl-lWELL, OTHERWISE ROWELL. 41 

That most of these bodies were lying in the earth 
for a number of years> is proved, 1 think, by these 
several circumstances : First a careful examination 
of the interior of many of the Skulls shows 
that roots have vegetated within them, the dry 
fibres of which I have often observed ; — next, the 
teeth are nearly all absent, and it is notoriously 
one of the fir^t effects of inhumation upon the 
osseons system, by which the teeth are loosened ; 
and lastly we have two sources from which bodies 
may have been exhumed, and reinterred beneath 
the mother church ; and those are the Chapel of 
the Virgin, and that moiety of the original grave yard 
which has evidently at some long distant time 
been taken from the church. If the conjecture 
be correct, that the vault in which, they are 
contained is a part of the Crypt, in which, by the 
Romanists the funeral service was commonly 
proformed, it is probable that about the period of 
the Reformation when it wa>s no longer required 
for this purpose, and when the population of 
Kowell must have materially decreased the Com- 
missioners may have sequestered to secular 
purposes a portion of the churchyard, and directed 
the disturbed remains to be deposited in the disused 
Crypt, and the latter finally closed up % 

Such is the excellent order in which the bones 
are kept, and the cleanly condition of the vault, 
that although neoessarily a solemn, it is by no 
means a revolting spectacle; one feature only 
excepted — and that is the unaccountable tendency 
of the English for inscribing their names, which 
has led many of the visitors to scrawl their 
designations, and addresses, not only upon the 

H Human bones Lave been dn£ up in front of Jesus 
Hospital S, E. Qi the churchyard, 



L 



H county of Northampton. 

walls, and roof, but even upor. the mouldering 
remains they contain. The silent agent by which 
the demolition of this interesting relic of antiquity 
is rapidly being effected, is the Atmosphere: 
On a damp day the air of the cavern is noxious, 
heavy, and oppressive ; whilst the rapid removal 
of Hydrogen from that source, is evidenced by the 
large drops of moisture visible around ; and on 
th« other hand the equally extensive appropriation 
of Oxygen, is shewn by the size of the many 
crystals of Phosphoric acid, with which the bones 
are encrusted. In highly electric states of the 
weather, the candles of the guide burn with a 
peculiarly lurid flame, and if one have nerve 
enough at such seasons to descend without their as- 
sistance, the pale glimmering of phosphorescent 
light, may occasionally be seen hovering about the 
farther extremity of the vault ; a natural, but to 
most persons, a somewhat startling phenomenon. 
At the eastern extremity of the cavern, is a rude 
sketch, apparently intended to represent the 
Resurrection. 



In that portion of the western entrance im- 
mediately beneath the tower is a mortuary 
memorial, and the fragment of another ; both of 
which are here given : — 

My flesh and my heart faileth, 
but God is y e strength of my 
heart ; and my portion for ever. 

fn memory of 

Mary Groom 
who departed this 
life y G 26 of Septemb 
1750, in y e 57th year 
of her age, 




. ! '■ 



0k* 



MM 






r *w 



Ancient Futures A,n tkt J^ttfry - Jtcwell Ckurr/, . 






U 



*,:/. 



■ i : -»t»y-JHi ; '>is>- 



'■->*& 












ANCIENT FIGURES IN THE BELFRY 3*0 WEL Cfi. 



HUN 



HUNDRED OF BOTHWELL, OTHERWISE HOWELL. 43 

Here is also the fragment of the lid once belonging 
to a stone Coffin, three of which, have, at different 
times, been discovered. — The Visitor to Roweli 
church is particularly requested to take the trouble 
of ascending to the bellfry; where he will obtain 
a close view of the beautiful roof, whose groinings 
are enriched by the representation, among other 
subjects, of Ladie's head dresses in the refgns of 
Henry 3rd, and Edwd 1st. 

The tower contains six bells, with the following 
inscriptions :«-— & 

1st. 
" Henry Bagley me fecit, 1682 Cantate Domino 

canticum novum. Edward Hill Esq. 1683." 
Around the top are stamped representations ol the 
head, and legend of Charles 2nd. 

2nd. 
" Henry Bagley made mee 1682." and similarly 
stamped 

3rd. 
" William Lightfoot, Vicker, Robert Jonathan 
Smith. 1682." * 

4ih. 
" 1682. William Stephens, and Lan Driver 
Churchwardens, Matthew Bagley made mee " * 

5th. * ' 
" T. Eayre, Kettering I. H. S. Nazarene, Rex 
Judroorum, Fili Dei miserere mei, 1726 Gloria 
Patri, Filioet Spiritui Sancto." 

6th. 

Nathanael Hill, Armigcjr, Dom Manery, Edward 

Chapman, Vicarius. W, Palmer, W. Shortlaod, 

R. Tongue, L. Drver. Churchwardens. 

anno Dom-i, 1725. 

i mong the bells, f^re still to be seen the hammers* 



44 county of Northampton. 

ani wires, by which the Chimes were played ; 
and which have been discontinued but recently. 



EXTERNAL ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES. 
The western doorway is contained in a recess, 
surmounted by an arch, consisting of numerous 
Round, and three Chevron mouldings; of which 
last, two are horizontal, and one, the central, 
projecting, — supported by five slender pilasters 
on either side. Immediately above this archway, 
a r e three semicircular arches of construction, 
inserted for the purpose of strenghening the 
massive tower, for the support of the lofty spire 
by which it was once terminated : — and it is not 
unworthy of rem irk that of three arches which are 
also distinguishable on the South side, one is of 
that primitive construction, adopted in the Anglo 
Saxon era. — Above these are two lofty windows 
divided by a stone transom into two compartments/ 
At the eastern extremity of the South Chauntry 
is a window which was most probably placed 
there on the demolition of the transept, of the 
Perpendicular style, divided by a billeted transom, 
and the mullions continued vertically. The great 
window of the Chancel is in tolerable preservation, 
and presents a fine example of the Decorated 
style : — On the left side of this window, looking 
toward the churchyard, is a large statuary 
bracket ; which from its proportions, would appear 
to have supported at an earlier period, an effigy 
of considerable magnitude- The beauliful buttresses 
b)* which this portion o f the church is terminated, 
and the pinnacles they support, are well worthy of 
examination. The most remarkaole feature of the 
whole building, is probably, the winding stair 



HUNDRED OF ROTHWELL, OfHfellWlSfc ROWELt. 45 

turret by which the campanile was formerly 
reached; — It is situated on the north side b* the 
tower, but the ascent having become dangerous 
from decay, it has been partially dismantled and 
closed up. On the whole, every appearance about 
the structure tends to confirm the conjecture, by 
which the middle of the twelfth century is indicated 
as the date of its commencement, and the earlier 
years of the thirteenth,* as that of its completion; 

The churchyard, contains but few objedts 
claiming particular notice : one of the chief, is a 
worn and rhutilated recumbent slab, on which two 
semi figures are carved. There are also two or 
three altar tombs of the early part of theseyenteeth 
century, whose elaborate sculpture forbids the 
supposition, that they were originally placed in a 
situation so slightly protected from the injurious 
^effects ofweaiher, and casualty.-— Near the end of 
the chancel* is a stone with the following in- 
scription. 

fterieath 

lie the remains of 

John Cogafi, 

Apothecary : 

Author of an Essay on the 

Epistle to the Itomans, and 

other anonymous pieces.- 

all which he published, 

more under a sense of their 

truth and importance, than in 

prospect of gain or success. 

After a life of labour and 

* The female headdresses upon the groining of the 
bellfry roof, were in vogue from 1216, to 1272,— 



46 COt NT V OF NORTHAMPTON. 

trial, he died, trus'ing alorie 

in Chrht For eternal life, 

April 23, 1784* 

Ao-ed 86. 



In closing this imperfect account of Rowell Churchy 
the writer records with great satisfaction, the 
commencement of the restoration of the Chancel 

roof, by order of- Turville Esq., of Bosworth 

Hall, Leicestershire, 

Chapel of ease to Rdwell Churchy at Orion. 
Uctfher more than a mile distant from Rowell, irl 
a southwesterly direction, is the hamlet of Otton ; 
of which the following concise description is given 
by Bridges." Of this name is an hamlet pertaining 
to the manor bf Rothwell, and having been always 
held by the same possessors. Here is a chapel 
bf ease where the Vicaf bf Rothwell performs 
Divine Service once a month." And as corro- 
borating this statement, he refers to a register of 
John of Buckingham, Bishop of Lincoln. At 
the present date, the hamlet contains 23 houses; 
and 110 inhabitants; and although as we have 
seen it is united to Rowell for ecclesiastical pur- 
poses, it enjoys within itself all other parochial 
privileges, Orton is pleasantly situated on an 
elevated locality, and contains several respectable 
houses; the cottages also are of a superior character 
to those generally met with in this county. 
Assessed Property, £ 1,584. Poor rates in 1838, 
i?l 04. 15. 0. The church, which both externally 
and internally, presents, an appearance most 
creditable to the inhabitants, is an edifice in the 
Early English style ; having a low square embattled 
tower, containing one bell, a nave with clerestory, 



HUNDRED OF ROTIlWJELL OTHERWISE ROWELL. 47 

South aisle, and a diminutive chancel. The length 
of the nave is 36 feet, and on its south side, 
separated from it by three pointed arches, resting 
on octagonal pillars, is a small aisle. A massive 
Saxon arch divides the nave from the chancel. 
The ancient font is of a quadrilateral shape, having 
at the angles grotesque heads, rudely executed ; 
one that of a bear, muzzled, the second that of a 
man, the third of a tiger, and the fourth, of a 
ram : It is supported by an appropriate pedestal 
of modern construction. There is nothing very 
remarkable in the windows. On the north side 
are two plain pointed lights, divided by a simple 
mullion bicfurcating towards the head. Cor- 
responding windows are found in the South aisle, 
with the addition of a small lancet light, at its 
Eastern extremity. Two small clerestory windows 
in the decorated style are inserted in the South 
wall ; and the chancel is lighted by a plain 
round headed window. Not the slightest trace of 
any heraldic bearing is to be found within the church. 
The following are the only epitaphs it contains. 
In memory of 
Richard Vialls, 
Died May 21st, 1774; 
in the 86th, year 
of his age. 

Here lieth the body 

of Thos Dainty, he died 

February the 2, 1737, 

aged 73 years. 

also (he body of Frances 

Damty his Wife, she died 

May the 1 6th, 1754; 

aged 89 years* 



48 



COCNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

B .i , 1 , To th e memory of 

Elizabeth j. wife of James Dainty 

who died Feb ye 8th, 1766 

aged 48 years. 

Also William their son, died May ve 8 

*/61, in ye 2nd year of his aV. 

Also James Dam., Sen, who died Oct 

the 8, J782; aged 74 years. 

In memory of 

James Dainty, 

who departed this life 

the 29th day of November, 

1828, 
m the 74th year of his a 






In memory of 

John Dainty, 

who departed this life 

the 28th day of September, 

1829, 
in the 73rd year of his age. 

In memory of 

William Bryan, 

who departed this life, June 

the llth 1761, in the 

80th year of his age. 

In memory of 

Elizabeth, the wife of 

William Bryan, wli* 

died Nov ye 19, 1762 

in ye 78th year of her age. 



HUNDRED OF ROTIIWELL, OTHERWISE ROWELL. 49 

On an extremely neat mural taWet against the 

South wall is the following inscription. 

Sacred 

to the memory of 

David Oswin, 

who departed this life 

April 29th, 1838, 

Aged eighty two years. 

"Shall not the Judge of all the world do ri^ht" 



The Churchyard at the present time contains no 
mortuaiy Memorial whatever. The Church was 
thoroughly repaired in 1842 ; and the burial 
ground which was not previously consecrated, 
having been properly set apart for interments 
the inhabitants have now their own Registers, 
which take date from the year 1846. There is 
m one Sunday school in the hamlet. The principal, 
if not the sole landed proprietor of this hamlet, is 
H. H. H. Hungerford Esq., of Dingley Park. 

The following is the list of persons entitled to 
vote at the Election of Knights of the Shire. 

H. Hungerford Esq. 
William Cook. 
William Oswin. 
John Wiggins. 
Robert Wiggins. 






Vica»ial roll of Rothwell cum Orton. 
According to the register of Hugo Wells, Bishop 
of Lincoln, the Vicarage was ordained in the 
year 1220; and the patronage vested in the Abbot 
of Cirencester,— who instituted. 

William de Rowel I, 4 Non. Aug. 1220. 

Nicholas son of Stephen, 1222 

E2. 



50 COUNTY OF NOfcTHAMfTON. 

William of William Thorpe, 1270. 

John of St. Albans, 1309. 

Robert of Bury. 

At this period, the patronage, from some cause 
unexplained, reverted to the Crown ; which 
appointed 

Thomas Nunch, 1352. 
Dom Richard Graunt alias Everdon, 

Waller Wotton, 14l9. 

Nicholas Counce. 

William Inett, 1454. 

Dom, Stephen Brasyer, 1455. 

■ i ■ John Venor, 1464. 

■ Henry Draper, 1468. 
— Roger Cooper, 1512. 

John Nayler, 1537. 

At the latter end of the reign of Henry the 8th, 
the patronage was held by Thomas Hilton, of 
London : b.y whom the two following presentations * 
were made. 

Dom, Jacob Robert, 1539. 

Adam Slater, 1661. 

Again reverting to the Crown. Queen Elizabeth 

appointed Francis Parson, 1566. 

Her successor James 1st. instituted 

Samuel Wilblood, 1614, and the advowson 
then became possessed by the Lords Stanhope, 
of Harrington ; by whom several of the subsequent 
presentations were made. At this time, the light 
f presentation is alternately exercised by three 
parties. 
r Robert Booth, 1619. 

John Hill, 1638. 

John Humphery, 166.3. 

William Lightfoote, 1686. 

john York, 16»3. 



HUNDRED OF ROTHWELL, OTHERWISE HOWELL. 51 

John Ensor, 1694. 

Richard Brook; 1698. 

Joseph Cateil, 170O. 

Edward Chapman, M.A. 1720. 

Thomas Burnett, M.A. 1740. 

Edward Waller, 1776. 

Samuel Cricke, 1780* 

William Brotherhood B. A. 1828. 

Allali Macpherson B. D. 1835. the 

present learned, and beneficent Vicar, 

Jt only remains to observe, that this Church is 
the head of the Deanery of Rothwell,— 



THE AUGUSTINE NUNNERY. 
The residence termed the Nunnery at the present 
time, occupies with its outbuildings> the site of 
the Conventual edifice ; and was erected in the 
year 1631. It has been most carefully examined 
but with the exception of a little ancient carving 
on one of the doors, no relic of the preceding 
building is visible. Very little of the establish- 
ment itself is known ; and for even this little we 
are indebted to the indefatigable Antiquarj, Mr. 
Bridges, whose account is subjoined. 

u In Rothwell was a small priory of nuns of the 
Ahgustin order, to the honor of S. John Baptist. 
The founder is no where mentioned, but probably 
was one of the Clare family, whose ancestors in 
the manor were patrons of it. In the ninth year of 
Ric. 2nd, the rectory of Desborotigh was ap- 
propriated to this convent. At the survey in 
1535, 26, Hen 8th, the site of the Priory with 
its yards, gardens, orchards and houses stand- 
ing within the precincts of it, were not rated , 
and the profits arising from Desborough rectory 
E3 



52 COUNTY ©F KOR'EHAkPTO&. 

were collected at £10. 10s. 4d. out of which being 
deducted, the Bishop of Lincoln 6s. 8d. to the 
Archdeacon of Northampton for synodals and 
procurations for the rectory, 10s 7d. in a pension 
to the Vicar 20s. and to a stipendiary chaplain daily 
officiating in the priory 53s. 4d. the clear yearly - 
revenue amounted only to £5. l$s. 8d. Of the 
Prioresses who governed it, we tind the following 
names recorded. The first is 

Agnes, upon whose decease in 1305. 

Ajlice de Cravenho, with the consent of Ralph 
de Monthermer Earl of Gloucester, and Hertford, 
the patron, was elected to succeed her. This 
Lady resigning her office in 1312, 

Amicia de Navesby was appointed in her place. 
How long she continued iu it doth not appear ; 
but on a vacancy in 1349, 

Catherine de Isham, was chosen to fill it. Her 
successor appears to have been, * 

Catherine del Grene, who dying in 1381, the 
convent having obtained licence of election from 
the Earl of Stafford, nominated, 

Milicent de Kybworth, in her room. She 
seemeth to have enjoyed it but a very little time, 
being succeeded, though we do not find in what 
year, by 

Alice Brymyngton ; who making a vacancy by 
death in 1395, the eight nuns who composed the 
convent agreed in the appointment of 

Alice Langton. How long she presided, or who 
was her immediate successor is not apparent ; 
but in 1476, 

Margaret— who was then prioress, with the 
rest of the convent, prasented to the church of 
Desborough. She died in a few years after, the 
Bishop of Lincoln in 1479, confirming the election 



HUNDRED OF ROTHWE1L, OTHERWISE ROWE^L, 53 

of Joan Clmce to this office. From henceforward 
we meet with no ether names till 1535, when at 
the time of the survey of its revenues 

Margaret Loftus was prioress of this house. 
As it was suppressed shortly afterwards, this Lady, 
we apprehend, was the last who governed it. 
In 37th, of Hen. 8th, this Priory with the demesnes 
and all other lands belonging to it were granted 
to Henry Lee.** 



THE CHAPEL OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 

la the ordination of the vicarage of Rowell, St. 
Mary's Chapel in Rothwell, and the Chapel of 
Orton were decreed to belong to it : Moreover by 
an agreement bearing date 30th Oct, 1490, the 
Abbot and Monastic brethren of Cirencester 
obliged themselves to pay 20s yearly to a chaplain 
who should perform divine service in the said 
Chapel, which is now a dwelling house ; and 
according to a decree of Queen Elizabeth, the 
residence of the Master of the Grammar School. 



The Congregational, or Independent Chapel, 
Two centuries have elapsed since the strife of 
Puritan and Cavalier found angry vent upon the 
field of battle, and ihough for the sake of peace 
and unity it is desirable as little allusion as possible 
should be made to that disastrous season, it is 
altogether impossible for an impartial writer to 
discharge his task with fidelity, unless he be per- 
mitted to avail himself of such recorded facts as 
have become the inheritance alike of history, 
and posterity. Moreover, it is as little feasible to 
study unbiassed details of that sanguinary period, 
and yet fail to find much that is estimable in the 
self denying and sdfsacrificing principles of the 



54 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON, 

Puritan leaders : whilst upon the other hand, it is 
equally certain that, the feeling which was at 
first one of religious enthusiasm only, was 
ultimately suffered to degenerate into one of 
dire revenge, whose reckless indulgence has 
stained indelibly the page of British history, with 
a Sovereign's blood. Time, which generally 
place human events in aspects differing from 
those in which they originally appeared, has not 
failed to exert its customary influence on a 
question, which, may now at least, be discussed 
with temperance. It has shewn us by the recent 
discovery of important, and unquestionable 
documents, that the first Charles, was by no 
means, the patriotic, frank, and honourable prince, 
bis warm adherents ever believed him ; and it is a 
great question whether the descendants of his loyal 
subjects, whose blood flowed in such profusion 
during that civil contest, would defend the integrity 
of the Monarch, with zeal correspondent with that ' 
evinced by their ancestors. With the season of 
those unhappy differences, their causes have also 
in a great measure departed ; and never perhaps* 
since the glorious Reformation, was there a period 
more calculated to enhance in the opinion of all 
thinking men, the value of those dying words of 
Lord William Russell ; uttered at the moment 
previous to surrendering his life upon an arena, 
the rancour of his enemies vainly strove to render 
one of ignominy \ if I wish all sincere Protestants 
may love one another, and not make way for 
Popery by their animosities'' 9 A very few years 
after the execution of Charles the first, the 
congregational covenant was entered into by the 
Protestant Dissenters resident in Howell, and its 
neighbourhood :— It was dated anno Domini 1656, 




.. • IN^ ■ 




j 



M^:<rK.- 






HUNDBED OF RtiTllWELI., OTHERWISE ROWELL. 55 

the subscribers thereunto being in number near 
thirty ; to whom, Mr. John Beverly was pastor, 
John Ponder, and John Cooper, Elders, and John 
Fox, with Ralph Mun, Deacons, 

The Mr. Beverly who becnme the first Pastor 
of this Church, had been a fellow of Trinity College 
Cambridge ; that he was a most disinterested 
labourer in the field he had chosen, was shewn 
by his refusal to leave his flock, when tempted to 
do so by an offer of a living four times as valuable, 
made to him by Mr. Peters, on the recom* 
mendation of Colonel Read : and thai he was 
also a very learned man is evidenced by his 
elegantly written, and well known tract, De 
Independentismo,' against Hornbeck. After a 
portracted illness, he died on the 1st day of 
June, 1658, and the high esteem to which his- 
literary labours had raised him among the 
Congregationalists, may be seen in the following 
letter of condolence, received by his afflicted 
congregation shortly after his decease. 

" The Church of Christ at Ferling, in Essex, ta 
the Church of Christ which is at Rowel, in North- 
amptonshire ; sendeth greeting in the name of 
Him who is your Lord, and our's 

Brethren, and Beloved * 

The loss of your iate Pastor we 
are condoling with you the moie, as knowing it 
is not easily to be repaired. G r eat Britain, where 
(in both parts of this island) he did good service 
to his Master, will not afford us many John 
Beverly's. We doubt not, but you'll have your 
dependence the more upon the great Shepherd of 
the Sheep, and minding that promise, Isai. 4<X 11* 
with other consolatory scriptures, will trust in 
him, who for a short season sent you that faithful 



56 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

servant of His, that He will feed you, lead you, 
and provide for you ; for what Provision is like 
His.' and who teacheth like Him/ Now, dear 
Brethren, we shall not call you off from hearing 
Him that speaketh from Heaven, if, next to 
many choice Scripture exhortations we earnestly 
desire you to remember, and hold fast, what you 
heard and received from Christ, speaking in this 
his precious Angel, while with you. Surely, his 
gracious sweet Conversation, his Humilitv and 
tears, his prayers, and preachings, are yet fresh in 
your memories. Oh let them never be forgotten I 
And may your moderation be known unto all men, 
as his was ; let his zealous engagement against 
formality, be also your's. What now, beloved, 
will be a duty more incumbent on you than this, 
to abide by his doctrine; and holding clo&e to the 
visible purity of church Matter and Membership, 
as of Church administrations, to be Cautions of 
entangling yourselves with those that associate 
for empty and shriveling formalities, (without any 
regard had to the true promoting of Communion, 
of Saints,) which is a slurring of all Reformation 
Work. Finally, Brethren, that we may hold fast 
the form of sound words, and healing doctrine 
with you ; and that we may live more out of 
ourselves, in the life of Christ, being acted more 
by the power of that Spirit, who is the Spirit of 
Judgment, and the Spirit of Burning, let there 
be, we intreat you, an Exchange of Prayers, a 
Return of Counsels, and a Highway of Communion, 
between you and us, as becometh Saints. 

Signed in tha name, and with the consent 
of the Church. 

John Statham, Pastor. 
For a period cf four years the Members of this 



tttjMDRED OF ROTIlWELL OTHERWISE HOWELL. 57 

Community were without a fixed preacher, and 
accustomed to attend the ministry of Mr. Browning, 
of Hesboiough : until indeed the famous Act of 
Conformity compelled that Minister (in company 
with very many others) to resign his living. Upon 
this the Congregationalists residing in Rowell 
invited him to settle among them; with which he 
complied. An unfinished exposition of Romans 
5th, intended for the press^ is all the literary labour 
he is supposed to have left, although for more 
than twenty years he continued to perform the 
duties of his office with singula* zeal, and anxiety ; 
having more than ones suffered imprisonment ifi 
ihe Cbunty Goal of Northampton, as is shewn by 
letters written from thence 16 the people of h?s 
charge. He died Anno Domini 1685, and for 
four years the small congregation were again with* 
out a Pastor: In 1689 Mr* Richard Davis was 
\ chosen Minister, and during his presidency, onfc 
of those enthusiastic epidenlics, occasionally seen 
in the present day, would appear to have broken 
out among his people ; which is thus noticed by 
Maurice. "At home his comfort wa§ great in th& 
abundant success of the Gospel, in Conversion, 
and edification ; yet this comfort was allay'd with 
sore afflictions ; whereof many lying reports were 
raised, and improved by the enemy, to the 
disadranta^e of the cause of God, Several women 
belonging to the Church were afflicted with 
hysterical fiis, whereby they were, while those 
fits lasted, incapable of any motion, or thrown into 
that which was irregular, and violent. Though 
there was nothing belonging to those fits, but what 
is common in the world, instances of the same 
kind being frequent, yet there were some attending 
circumstances which made the affliction great 



t& COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

They were often seiz'd with them in the public 
assemblies ; &c. " The voluminous writings of 
this gentleman time will not allow of our ex- 
amining; but a confession of Faith he published 
may be acceptable to members of his persuasion, 
and cannot be otherwise than interesting to these 
of the Established Church, although somewhat 
lengthy. 

Congregational Confession of Faith. 
[ Theholy scriptures bfthe old and new Testament 
are the word of God, and the only rule of faith 
and Li r e. 

There is but One only, the living and true God, 
who is a Spirit infinite, eternal and unchargeable 
in his Being, Wisdom, Power, fcloliness, Goodness, 
and Truth. There are three persons in the God- 
head, the Father, eternally begetting, the Son; 
eternally begotten of the Father, and the Holy d 
Ghost (eternally probeeding from the Father, atid 
Son, the same ih essence, equal in all the in- 
communicable and cbmmnhicable Attributes of 
the divine Naturfe. 

The Decrbes of bod are his eternal purpose 
according to the (Council of his own will, whereby 
for his own glory, He hath foreordained whatsoever 
comes to pass ; which Decrees he executes in thd 
works of Creation and Providence. 

r fhe wbrk of Creation is God's making all triihgs 
of nothing, by the word of his Power, in the space 
bf six days, and all very good ; and after ether 
creatures he created man, male and female, after 
His own Image, in Knowledge, Righteousness* 
Holiness, with Dominion over the Creatures, 
God's works of Providence are His most holy, 
wise, and powerful preserving and governing all 



HUNDRED OF ROTHWELL OTHERWISE ROVTELL 59 

his creatures, and all their actions. When God 
created man he entered into a covenant of life with 
him, as the common head and representation of 
all mankind, upon condition of perfect obedience, 
forbidding him to eat of the tree of Knowledge 
of Good and Evil, upon pain of death; which 
covenant our first parents being left to the freedom 
of their own will, broke, and so fell from the Estate 
wherein they were erected, by sinning against 
God ; and all mankind, descending from Adam by 
ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with 
him in his first transgression. 

The sinfulness of every man descending from 
Adam by ordinary generation, consists in the guilt 
of Adams first sin, the want of original Righteous- 
ness and the corruption of his whole nature, which 
is commonly called original Sin, iocether with all 
actual sins whereby he is opposite to all good, 
and bent to all evil, and liable to God's wrath, the 
curse of the law, death, and all miseries spiritual, 
temporal, and eternal. The remainders of this 
orginal sinful nature, act even in the Saints, when 
their state is changed through Grace. 

Christ Jesus the eternal Son of God, became 
Man, being conceiv'd in the womb of the Virgin 
Mary by the Holy Ghost, and thereby taking our 
nature upon him continueth to be God, and man, 
in two distinct natures and one person for ever. 
Our Lord Jesus Christ, both in his humbled and 
exalted state, executeth the office of a Prophet, 
and of a Priest, ana of a King of His Church. 
Christ executes the office of a Prophet, in the 
tini3S both of the old and new Testament, in 
revealing, by his word and spirit, the whole mind 
and will of God for man's salvation. Christ ex* 
cuteth the office of a Priest, in once offering up 



60 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

himself a sacrifice without spot to C»od, to be a 
reconciliation for the sins of all them that shall be 
saved, and in making continual intercession for 
them, atthe right hand of the Majesty on high. 
Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth the office of 
a King, in calling out of the world a people peculiar 
to himself, in ruling and defending them, and in 
restraining and conquering all his and their 
enemies. 

The Covenant of grace was made with Christ as 
the second Adam, and in him with all the elect as 
his seed, and was made manifest by freely provid- 
ing, and offering to sinners a Mediator, and life and 
salvation through him. 

Those whom God effectually calleth, he also 
freely justifieth, not by infusing Righteousness in- 
to them, but by pardoning their sins, and by 
accounting and accepting the persons as righteous ; 
not for anything wrought in them, done by them, 
but for Christ's sake alone; not by imputing faith it- 
self nor any other Evangelical obedience unto 
them, as their Righteousness, but by imputing the 
obedience and satisfaction of Christ unlo them ; 
they receiving and resting on Him, and his right- 
eousness, by faith, which faith they have not of 
themselves, it is the gift of God; and this faith is 
not a dead faith, but worketh by love, and is ac- 
companied wiih all other saving grace. 

Faith in the general, is a giving credit to the whole 
revealed will of God in his word, and upon his 
own Authority ; but as it is a saving grace, it is a 
work of the spirit, whereby a sinner doth see and 
behold Christ in all his Excellencies, and is per- 
suaded & enabled to look to him, to go forth from 
&in and self, to lay hold of Christ, and to rest and 
rely on Christ and his righteousness, for accept* 



HUNDRED OF ROTHWELL, OTHERWISE ROWELL. 61 

ance, with God and eternal salvatim. 

Effectual calling, is the poweiful voire of the 
Son of God, by his Spiiit accompanying his word, 
whereby a sinner is enabled to accept of Christ 
upon his own terms, according to the promise of 
the Gospel, theielVre it relates to Faith. 

Assurance, is not a bare conjectural and pro- 
bable persuasion, but the infallible certainty of 
Faith, founded upon the testimony of the Spirit 
of Adoption, witnessing with our Spirits that we 
are the children of God ; although many believers 
have not attained to this assurance, yet it is the 
duty of all to seek after it; and those that have 
attained may have it divers ways shaken ana 
diminished, through sin and temptaiions. 

The perseverance of the Saints, depends not 
upon their own free will, or inherent Gr«ce already 
received, but upon the immutability of the Love 
of God in the decree of Election ; the effio cy and 
merit of the intercession of Christ ; the nature of 
the covenant of Grace ; and the abiding of the 
Spirit of God. Although true believers cannot fall 
finally and totally, yet they may fall into grievous 
sins, and may continue in them for a while, whereby 
they grieve the Spirit, lessen their Comforts, 
wound their consciences, scandalize others, and do 
come under the rebuke of God's fatherly correc- 
tions, for their recovery and amendment. 

Adoption, is an act of free gr^ce of God, in and 
for His only Son Jesus Christ, whereby all those 
that are justified are received into the number of 
His children, have His name put upon them, ihe 
Spirit of His Son given unto them, are under 
His fatlrerly care and correction, admitted to all 
the liberties and privileges of the Sons of God 
F 2. 



6 1 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

made Heirs of all the promises, and fellow-heirs 
with Christ in glory. 

Sanctification, is the work of God's grace, 
whereby they, whom God has before the foundation 
of the world chosen to be holy, are in time, 
through the powerful operation of the Spirit, 
applying the death and resurrection of Christ unto 
them* renew'd in their whole man after the image 
of God ; having the seeds of repentance, and of all 
other saving graces put into their hearts, and those 
Graces so stirred up, increased and strengthened, 
as that they more and more die unto sin, and rise 
up unto newness of life, in the lively actings, and 
exercises of faith. 

True Gospel repentance, is a saving grace, 
wrought by the Spirit of God, whereby we are 
enabled, through believing on the Lord Jesus 
Christ for life and salvation, to turn from sin 
unto God. 

Works done before Faith (however good in them- 
selves,) yet are vain, fruitless, sinful, and not 
pleasing to God ; and therefore can't make us any 
WAys meet for the receiving of Grace. Good 
works are then only good when they are the fruits 
of faith, and they ought to be carefully maintained 
by Believers ; not that they may thereby be 
justified, or continued in a justified state, but that 
they may gloiify God, and answer the ends of 
their Redemption by Jesus Christ. 

The moral law holds the elect during their 
unregeneracy, under its condemning force until 
they believe ; and is unto all believers a rule for 
obedience, which they are enabled to conform 
unto by the power of God's grace. 

The souls of believers, immediately after death, 
are made perfect in holiness, are receiv'd up to 



HUNDRED OF ROTHWELL OTHERWISE ROWELL 63 

heaven, and behold the face of God in light and 
glory. Their bodies in the mean time resting in 
the grave till the Resurrection, are then reunited Jo 
their Souls in perfect blessedness, and full enjoy- 
ment of God for ever. 

God has appointed a day wherein he will judge 
the quirk, and the dead in righteousness by Jesus 
Christ, to whom all power and judgment is given 
of the Father, for the glorifying his divine Mercy 
in the salvation of the elect ; and of his divine 
justice in the eternal damnation of the wicked, 
and disobedient." 

The author of the above Confession of Faith 
appears to have been called upon more than once 
to defend the orthodoxy of his principles, and in 
relating the circumstances, attending one of these 
examinations, the grim Puritan thus condescends 
to record a bon mot. 

" In a neighbouring town, in his sentences lie 
was put to the rack, there in his sentiments he was 
wronged and condemned, and there, in his name 
he was murdered. Mr. Haworth of Hartlord, 
being providentially present, and seeing such 
inhuman proceedings, was pleased to call into 
question their authority, and cried out aloud, Quo 
jure, quo jure? They being startled, surprized, 
and for some time silenced, at this unexpected 
challenge of their power, after a while he that 
would be thought chief among them sneakingly 
answered, Nullo jure: Then reply'd Mr. Hawoith 
it 16 In juria/ 

On the J lth. Sept. 1714, Mr. Davis died; leav- 
ing behind him several tracts, still much valued 
by the members of his persuasion ; and the re- 
putation of a learned, diligent, and successful 
Minister: He was succeeded by Mr. Matthias 
F3 



64 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

Maurice, of Olney, to whom posterity is indebted 
tcr a publication issued in 1729, called Monuments 
of Mercy/' or some ot the distinguishing 
favours of Christ to his Congregational Onurch at 
Rowell ; and which is the authority for most 
of the information recorded in this account of 
the large and respectable body of Independents 
now residing in Rowell. Mr. Maurice continued 
in possession of his charge upwards of twenlv four 
years; and was succeeded in 1740, by Mr. 
Sanderson, who died alter a residence of seven 
years in Uoweli. His place was filled in 1748 by 
Mr. Greyson, of whom it is chiefly remarkable 
that his preliminary examination was conducted 
by the eminent Dr. Doddridge. In the lutier part 
of his lAe he was assisted, and ultimately suc- 
ceeded, by M . John Wood, who resigned after a 
residence of twenty years, on the 25th March, 
1811. The pasiorate ot this Chapel next devolved 
upon the Hevd W. Scott, who, alter twenty years 
of eminently successful labour, of which a 
grateful recollection still exists among his former 
people, accepted the Tutorship of Airedale College, 
Yorkshire. He was succeeded in 1837, by Mr. 
Gailswoithy, who lesi^ned his charge in 1811, to 
the Hevd. K. Jessop, the present respected Pastor 
of the Congregationalists. 

The Chapel was erected in 1735, and is 
calculated to accommodate one thousand persons. 
It contains two moituaiy inscriptions only ; below 
the pulpit, 

v Here 

lieth interred the 

Body of tho Pevd. 

Mr. Matthias Maurice. 



HUNDRED OF KOTWWELL, OTHERWISE ROWELL 65 

who departed this life 

Sept. 1. 173S. aged 51. 

As unknown. 

Here lies also Elizabeth, 
his wife, who died the 
8th October, 1771, Aged 73. 
In front of the pulpit, and nearly in the centre 
of the Chapel, is ihe communion table, somewhat 
ancient, aiH of massive construction. In the vestry 
is a good library, containing several ancient and 
valuable works; the principal of which, is a tine 
black letter copy of Fox, in three volumes folio. 
Annexed to the Chapel are commodious Sunda) r 
Schools ; and cl«>>ely adjoining, the minister's 
house, and stabling for the accommodation of 
members of the congregation, residing at a dis- 
tance. On the left of the principal entrance is the 
- graveyard, containing, at piesent, but few me- 
morials with the exception of the following: 

Sacred 

to the memory of 

Elizabeth Horam, 

who died 27th March, 1840. 

Aged 72. 

N.B. This was the first corpse 

interred in this burial ground. 
In connection with this religious body is the 
British School, an establishment well conducted, 
and numerously attended ; an auxiliary Bible 
Society ; and an association for the circulation of 
tracts of a religious character. 

WESLEYAN METHODISTS. 

The members constituting this small congrega- 
tion, appear to have first associated for the pur- 



66 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

pose of religious worship, in the year 1825. In 
1833, a neat Chapel was erected by them, in the 
Lady-well lane; to which a small burying ground 
is attached, although up to the present date no 
interment has taken place therein :. The number 
cf the Congregation is about 150, and the number 
of Children attending the Sabbath School ex- 
ceeds 50* 



THE M4NOR OF ROWELL. 

In referring so copiously as will be necessary 
in the course of this work, to that valuable Survey, 
known as Domesday Book; it may not be altogether 
superfluous to remind the reader, briefly, of the 
state of the country, and its mixed population of 
victors, and vanquished, at the period of its 
compilation. The invincible Norman with wise 
policy, made little or no sudden alteration in the 
internal division, or government, of his newly ; 
acquired territory. Florence of VVorcester, thus 
enumerates the motives which induced William the 
first,aboutthe year 1030, to appoint a commission, 
consisting of Henry de Ferrieres, Walter Gitfard, 
Adam, brother of Eudes the Seneschal, Remi 
Bishop of Lincoln, with several officers of the 
Exchequer ; who were directed to visit personally 
and carefully report the condition of the subdued 
country; — and ihe mutations of property conse- 
quent upon the conquest. 

u He wished to know into what hands, through 
the whole extent of the country, the manors of 
the Saxons hid passed ; how many Saxons still 
kept their inheritances, by virtue of private treaties 
concluded with himself, or with his barons; how 
many acres of land there were in each rural 
domain ; what number of acres sufficed for the 



HUNDRED OF HOTHWELL, OTHERWISE ROWDLL. 67 



maintenance of a man at arms, and how many 
men at arms there were in each county, or shire 
of England, &c , &e." 

This Inquisition of Territory, which extended 
over six years, resulted in the production of that 
accurate record Domesday book. 

As it is my purpose to give such extracts from 
this compilation, and any documents ofa similar 
characier, which may refer to the various parishes 
now compiised within the hundred of Rowell, a 
short glossary of some of the terms peculiar to the 
Anglo Saxon era, may materially assist their 
perusal, and will be given in an appendix. 



DOMESDAY BOOK 



Rex tenet Rodewelle, et 
Overtone in Rodewelle 
Hund. lbi sunt viii 
Hidoe et iipart. 
Terra est XL Carvcat, 
in dnio sunt iv Carvcat 
et dimid. lbi molinnm 
de ix solid, et iv den; 
et viii acroe prati 
Hnic Manerio pertinent 
ha?c Membra 

Lodintone 

Clen^one 

Draetone 

Arningvorde 

Dereimrg 

Kt-ihuerse 

Ox end one 

Clipestone 

Cranesleg 

Burtone 
Terra est xix Carvcat 
inter totum. lbi sunt XL vii 
Sochamanui habeiites xviii 



TRANSLATION. 



The King holds Rowell an d 
Orton in Rowell Hundred 
There are 8 hides and 2 
parts. 

The land is 40 Carvucates, 
of which, 4% are in 
demesne. There is a Mill 
value 9 shillings & 4 pence ; 
and 8 acres ol meadow land 
To this Manor belong 
these Members. 

Loddington 
O I endon 
Dranghton 
A r tiling worth 
Desborough 
K el marsh 
Ox end on 
Clipston 
Crausley 
broughton 
The land on the whole is 
nineteen Carvcates— 1 here 
are 47 Socmen, having 1» 



68 



COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 



Camcatas, Hoc 
Manerium Rodewelle cum 
appendicibus tempore Regis 
Edvardi, valuit xxx libras, 
modo L libras. 



Carvcates. This Manor of 
Howell with its appendages 
in the time of Kins Edward 
(Confessor,) was worth £30 
now 50 pounds. 



Sufch. nearly eight centuries since was the extent 
of the Manor of Rowel!, then held by the King in 
person. So far as with any degree of accuracy 
they could be indicated, we have already traced its 
various transmissions from the eleventh, to the 
seventeenth century, when we find it purchased 
from the Crown by Edward Hill Esqe. as cuisorily 
mentioned at page 5. This gentleman was des- 
cended from an ancient family, which settled here 
in the reign of James 1st, having originally been 
located in Somersetshire, as appears from the 
annexed. 

PEDIGREE. 
Sir John Hill of Houndsden 
Somerset, ob 1341 



Martin Hill, 12th in 
descent from Sir John- 



Roger Hill temp. Hen. 6- 



— a daughter of Lord 
Willoughby, 



Francis Hill 



John Hill 



Edward Hill 

who in the reign of James 



-Susan, d of E. 
Lamb Esq. Essex. 



HUNDRED OP ROTHWELL OTHERWISE ROWELL 69 



1st purchased the manor 
of Kowell, including 
those known as Saunders 
and Buckingham, with 
all royalties, free warren, 
(i e. right of killing and 
taking game upon all 

lands within the Hun- 

fired manorial court, and 
in sho l every fendal pri- 
vilege ordinarily annexed 
to a royal manor, as well 
as all Emoluments and 
privileges connected with 
the Lordship of the 
Hundred. 

Edward Hill, born at High- 
am Ferrers 1635. died at 
Kowell, Aug. 1, 1705. — 



Nathaniel Hill _ 

Gtorge Hill King's 
Ancient beigt. at law.— 



—Susan d. of John 
Maunsell, Espr. 
Th orpe Maisor. 

—Susan d. of Stephen 
Loddington, Esq. 

— Ann Barbara Med- 
lycott, heiress of 
Cottingham: 
w -And had issu~>, 

1st Anne, married Thos. Cecil Maunsell of 
Thorpe MaUor, E Sqe . who died before he SIp! 

K' V 11 !' 3111 Cockajne, of Rushton Hall 
From the devisees in Trust of this lady, ( t0 whose 
<W , M « e the precedence of Visco/nVichflSS 



70 COUKTT OF NORTHAMPTON. 

was granted by William 4th.) the Manor of Rowell 
collectively, was puchased by her son-in-law 
Thomas P. MaunsellEsq. M. P. &c., &c, of Thorpe 
Malsor, present owner of the property, and LcrJ 
of the Manor, and Hundred. — 

It is much to be regretted that the attainable in- 
formation repecting this old family, in which the 
Manor of Rowell was vested for some generations 
and several of whose members were eminently 
distinguished in their several professions, should 
be so imperfect, as it unfortunately is — An old 
document recites the heiresses they had the 
fortune to obtain, as follows. 
Petronilla d and h of Hu^h le Despercer temp. 

Hen. 3rd. 
Johanna d of John Savage — Edwd. 3rd. 

Elizabeth de Hesthull — Hen. 4th. 

Isabella, d, and h, of Sir T. Fitchett, Spraxton, 

Somerset, 

Johan of W. Bannister, Esqre. 

Celil T. Sturton, Esqre. 

Dorothy -J. Hannock, Esqr. Cornwall, 

Lucy Sir P. Scutleigh, 

Isabella Sir Penrice, Penrice, 

Susan E. Lambef Esqr. 

Susan 1. Loddington, Esqre. Lince. 

Ann Barbara T. Medl\cott Esq. Cottingham. 

THE MARKET HOLSE. 
Situated in the centre of the town, this incom- 

t This Lady's uncle, Sir John Lambe Kt. of Troston Co. 
Suffolk, left her his estates, and two Coats of Arms 
paternal, and conceded. First Sa-On a Fess betw 3 
Cinque foils Erminois two Mullets Veit. Second, granted 
by Charles 1st. Erm-A lion ramp. Sa — 

The Hundred Court is held annually, on Thursday 
in Easter week, at the Sun Inn Rowell 



HUNDRED OF UOTI1WELL, OTHERWISE ROWELL. 71 

plete but fine vestige of the Sixteenth Century, re- 
mains an elegant monument of the interest taken 
in the prosperity ol the inhabitants of Rowell by 
the pious and accomplished Sir Thomas Tresham, of 
I Rnshton Hall. The fatality which attended most 
of his architectural undertakings is most remark- 
able ; One only, it is supposed, attained comple- 
tion; viz. theTnangular lodge atRushton, a build- 
ing well woith the antiquary's examination. 

The erection of the town hall at Rowell, was 
proceeding, if not commenced, in the year 1577 ; 
as we learn from the subjoined inscription, 
sculptured on the frieze. 

THOME TRESAMI MILITIS FVIT HOC 
OPUS IN GRATIAM DULCIS PATRIAE 
FECIT SILE TR1BUSQUE NORTHAMPTON- 
L^EVELMAXLVIE HUJUSQUE VIUNISIBI 
PAGI. NIHIL PRATER BONUM COM- 
MUNE QILES1VIT NIHIL PRiETER DECUS 
PEPENNE AM1CORUM. MALE QUI 
INTERPRETATUR DIGNUS HAUD TANTO 
EST BONO. Ao, DOMINI' MILLESIMO 
QUINGENTESIMO SEPTUAGESlMO SEP- 
TIMO. 

Around the Cornice, and in various other situ- 
ations are the Arms of thp County Gentlemen at 
the period of its erection : — They are not very 
correctly Carved, but are intended for the 
iamilies below mentioned. 



NAMES. ARMS. 



1 Norwich, 

2 Grey, 



Per pale Gu and Az. a lion 

ramp Erm. 
Barry of six Ar and Az, hi 

chief 3 Torteaux. 



72 



COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 



NAMES. 



ARMS. 



3 Stanley, 

4 Malory, 

5 Russell, 



6 Devereux, 

7 Touch, 

8 Mordaunt, 

9 Compton, 

10 Unknown, 

11 Mildmay, 

12 Hatton, 

13 Tresham, 

14 Lane, 

15 Hastings, 

1 6 Unknown, 

17 Greville, 

18 Unknown, 



On a Bend Az. 3 Stags heads 

cabossed Or. 
Or, a lion rampt. Gu. 
Arg. a lion ramp Gu. on a 

chief Sa, 3 Escallops of 

the first. 
Gu, a fess Or. in chief 3 

Bezants. 
Gu, twelve Bezants, a Canton 

Erm. 
Arg. a chev betw 3 Esioiles 

Sa. 
Sa. a lion pa^st. guardt. Or, 

betw 3 Helmets Arg. 
A Fess Erm, beiw six lions 

heads erased. 
Per Fess nebulee Ar & Sa. 
3 Greyhound's heads Coup- 

ed Cchd. 
Or. a Chev Erm, betw S 

Garbs Or. 
Per Saltire, Arg and Sa, 8 

trefoils slipped, Vert. 
Per Pale Az and Gu. 3 Sal- 
tiers Ar£. 
Or, a Maunch Gu a Crescent 

of cadency. 
Twelve Escallops a Cant Erm 
Sa on a Cross engr Or, nine 
Ogresses ;*a Crescent for 
Cadency. 
On a chief dancette 2 Cres- 
cents, 



HUNDRED OF ROTIIWELL, OTHERWISE ROWELl. 73 



NAMES. 



ARMS. 



19 Danvers, 

20 Griffin, 

21 StatFord, 

22 Dudley, 

23 Brisco 

24 Segrave, 

25 Wake, 

26 Tresham, 

27 Aylesbury, 

28 Kynnesman, 
i 29 Saunders, 

30 Willoughby, 



3! Kirkham, 
32 Fermor, 



33 Cave, 

34 Tanfield. 

35 Woodhuil. 

36 Gorges, 

37 Osborn, 



Arg. on a Bend Gu. 3 Mart- 

tletsOr. 
Arg. a Griffin segreant Sa. 
Or achev. Gu. a bendErm. 
Or. two Lioncels passt. Az. 
Arg. 3 greyhounds courant. 

in pale, Sa 
Arg. a lion, rampt. Sa 

Ducally crowned Or. 
Arg. 2 Bars Gu, in chief 3 

Torteaux 
As No. 13. 
Or. a Cross Arg. a crescent of 

cadency. 
Per Pale 3 Saltiers cchd . 
Per Chev. Arg. and Sa. 3 
Elephants heads erased 
cchd. 
Or. 2 Bars Gu. charged with 
3 Water Bougets of the 
field. 
Arg. On a Fess Gu. 3 Bezants. 
Gu. a Fess Sa charged with 3 
Anchors Or. betw. 3 lion's 
heads erased. 
Az. Fretty Arg. 
Arg. 2 Chevronels betw. 3. 

Martlets Sa. 
Sa. 3 crescents Or. 
Erm. a Fess betw 3 Cinque - 

foils, Gu. 
Quarterly Az. & Erm. over all 
a Cross engr. Or. 
G2. 



74 



COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 



NAxMES. 



ARMS. 



38 Throckmorton 

39 Morgan, 

40 Burnaby, 

41 Chauncy, 

42 Lew nor, 

43 Lynne, 

44 Wingfield, 

45 Unknown, 

46 Mulso, 

47 Dyve, 

48 Andrew, 

49 Tyringham, 

50 Elmes, 

51 Malory, 

52 Cope, 



Gu. on a chev. Ar. 3 Bars 

gemelles Sa. 
Ar. Oa a Bend engr. Sa. 3 
Cinquefoils of the 1st. in 
chief a cross flory betw. 2 
Fleurde lis 
Ar. 2 Bars Gu. in chief a 

lion passt. guardt. 
Or, 3 Chevronels engr Gu. 
Az. 3 Chevronels Arg. A 

Crescent of cadency 
Arg. a demi lion ramp. Gj. 
wiihin a Bord Sa. 
bezantee. 
Arg. On a bend cotised, Gu, 
2 pairs of wings of the 
field, a Crescent of 
cadency. 
On a chev. a crescent, an- 

annuletfor cadency. 
Erm.on a Bend Si. 3 Goal's 

heads erased Ar. 
Gu. a Fess dancettee Or. 

betw 3 Escallops, Erm. 
Gu, A Saltier voided Or. 
Arg. A Saltier engrailed Ar. 
Erm. two bars Sa. each charg- 
ed with 3 elm leaves Or. 
Or. a lion ramp. Gu. collared 

of ihe first, 

Or. on a Chev. betw. 3 roses 

Arg. as many Fleur de lis 

of the field. 



HUNDRED OF ROTHWELL, OTHERWISE HOWELL. 75 



NAMES. 



ARMS. 



53 Lee, 

54 Mauntell, 
; 55 Dormer, 



56 Pemberton, 

57 Hartwell, 

58 Isham, 

59 Brook, 

60 Dalyson, 

Hi Pulton, 
62 Unknown. 



63 

64 Veie, 

65 Tresham, 

66 Leycester, 



67 Purefoy, 



68 Apreece, 

69 Britaine, 



Ar. a fesse betw. three cres- 
cents Sa. 
A Cross encr. betw. 4 Martlets 
Arg. 10 Billets Or; on a chief 

of the second a clemi 

Lion ramp, issuant Sa. 
Ar. aChev. vert. betw. 3 well 

buckets Sa. 
Sa. a Ha»ts head eabossed 

Ar. betw. the attires a 

Cross formee Or. 
Gu. a fess wavy, in chief 

three piles also wavy Ar. 
Or. on Fess Az. 3 Escallops 

of the field, 
Gu. 3 Crescents Or. a Cant 

Erm. 
A Fess betw. 3 Estoiles. 
An Eagle displayed betw 3 

Fleur de lis. 
Blank. 
Quarterly Gu. and Or. in the 

1st. Quarter a mullet Arg. 
As No. 26. 
Arg. a fess engr. fretty of the 

field and Gu. betw 3 

Fleur de lis. 
Az. 3 Piles meeting in in base 

Or. On a Cant Gu. a mul- 
let Arg. 
Sa. 3 Pheons Arg. 
Gu. a Saltier betw 4 Fleu 

de lis. Or. 

G3. 






76 



COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 



NAMES. 



ARMS. 



70 Yelverton, 

71 Dudley, 

72 Vavasor, 

73 Randes, 

74 Catelyn, 

75 Humphrey, 

76 Butler, 

77 Villiers, 

78 Saunders, 

79 Saul, 

80 Creise, 

81 Griffin, 

82 Osborn, 

83 Haslewood, 



Arg. 3 Lioncels ramp, guard 
Gu. On a chief of the 2nd, 
a mullet of the 1st. 

Or. A Lion ramp guardt. 
Vert. In the dext chief 
point a mullet. 

Or. a Fess dancettee Sa. 
In the dext chief point a 
Mullet. 

Ar. on a Bend Ar. 3 Mascles 
Gu. In sinist chief point 
a Crescent 

Per Chev. Az. & Or. 3 cats 
passt. guardt. cchd. 

Gu. On a Cross bottonnee 
Arg. 5 Pellets; at each 
extremity 3 Escallops of; 
the field. 

A chev. Arg. betw. 3 cups 
covered Or. a mullet for 
diff. 

Or. On a Cress Gu. 5 Escal- 
lops Or. 

See No. 29. 

See No 14. 

Ar. A Lion ramp guard Ar 

See No. 20 

See No. 37. 

Arg. on a chev. gu. betw 3 
Owls Sa. as many Loz- 
enges Erm, on a chief 
Az.3 Hazel branches Or. 



HUNDRED OF ROTIIWELL, OTHERWISE ROWELL 77 



NAMES. 



ABMS. 



84 Spencer, 

85 Kynnesman, 

86 Dalyson, 

87 Villiers, 

88 Pulton, 

89 Tresham, 

90 RagsdaTe, 



Gu. a Fess Erm. betw 6 
griffins heads erased Or. 

See. No. 28. 

See No, 60. 

See No. 77. 

See No. 61. 

impaling Throckmorton. 

A Pelican vuluing herself, 
betw, 3 Fleur de lis. 



However ornamental, commodious and well 
dopted to the ends for which it was intended, viz. 
Market Hall, and Sessions House, still the build- 
icr has no peUension whatever to architectural 
legance. The market Hall, or basement story i* 
■f^open area, 18 yards longby 10 in width, entered 
y light semicircular archways. The upper story 
•ssions, or public room, would have been, if com- 
peted, a fine apartment, having two large fire 
aces, lighted by six Elizabethan windows, with 
ansoms and mullions, of wrought stone. The 
Kbers vvere laid, though they have long since 
sappeared; and it is conjectured that the third 
:>ry (intended to complete the Edifice) was 
r the residence of the keeper of the building, 
le staircase has been converted into a gaol, or 
;k-up, for the temporary custody of offenders. In 
1 27, a fund was raised for the purpose of repairing 
^ foundations, and the surplus was applied to the 
graving of a fine view of the building, and an 
;ompanying pUte, containing an outline of the 
raldic sculptures, both of which are to be seen 



78 CpUNTY OF NOBTHAMPTON, 

in Mr. Bakers magnificent History of this County, 
it is againevincmg strong symptous of dilapidation 
and unless some conservative fee'ing is shewn by 
the fashes particulary interested in its silent rec >rd 
of the gentle blood of their ancestors, it is not 
improbable that the present generation may wit- 
ness its decay beyond all power of reparation. 

JESUS' HOSPITAL. 



This Excellent Charity was founded in the reign 

of Queen Elizabeth by Owen Ragsdale, of whom 

the following brief account was written by his 

Executor, and one of the first Trustees of his 

Hospital. 

the; life of. 

Owen Ragsdal Gentn. Founder of Jesus 
Hospital in Rowel I, written in Latin by Ferdjnanctq 
Pulton, Gent; His Executor, and translated into 
English by the Reverend Mr. J. Cattell, Vicar. 

Owen Ragsdal, son of Henry Ragsdal, of 
Knyton,in the County of Nottingham. Gent, and 
Elizabeth his wile. 

When he was but a youth, and being of a good 
genius, arid with respect to his age, very well in- 
structed in the rudiments of good literature, was 
chosen scholar of Magdalen College, in Oxford, b) 
the assistance of his uncle, Owen Ogglethorpe, whc 
then was President of the said College, but after- 
ward made Bishop of Carlisle. There for som< 
time he plied his studies to very good purpose 
even till he went out Bachelor of Arts As soon a 
the University, for the sake of his ingenuity, ha< 



HUNDRED OF ROTHWELL, OTHERWISE ROWELL. 79 

adorned him with that degree, the Bishop then 
dying, the inhabitants of Kovvell desired him to*-- 
come to them ; there wilh great pain» and happy- 
success, he instructed the youth in learning, and 
good Manners; and after he had spent some years 
in teaching school, which he performed with great 
applause, for the improvement of his own learning 
he returned again to Oxford; and in Lincoln 
College betook himself to the study of the Civil 
Law. While he was there a good estate fell to 
him by inheritance, in Yorkshire, by the death of 
his uncle, Andrew Og&lethorpe, who died without 
issue. A second time he is called from his 
academical studies, to take possession of the same. 
Not long after he returned to Rowell, and married 
JYIary, widow of Richard Hamden, Esq , daughter 
of Edward Osbom, of Kelmarsh, Esq., a virtuous 
and frugal wpman ; and with a wife, God gave 
him plenty of all things. He sold his estate in 
Yorkshire, and purchased in Nonhamptonshire. 
From that time he was counted by those among 
whom he lived, a man of great authority and 
esteem, so that he was almost constantly employ- 
ed in managing, and making up matters of weight 
and moment; all which he undertook so prudently 
and managed so justly, and faithfully, that he pro- 
cured himself the love and commendation of all 
ranks, and sorts of men. In the abundance of 
wealth which God gave, he retained a humble, 
and grateful mind toward God; hiving this ex- 
pression often in his writings and discourse. 

c< He that is mjghty, hath done great things 
forme." ~ 

It was his custom to be hospitable according 



80 COUNTT OF NORTHAMPTON. 

benefit others i„ j. Common wealtl , y of m '^ 
sons. He restore th* m.^i^ *_ t^ fe ,. P.* 



He restored the Market to Rowell, which 
bad aded and was let, and built a marke no USe 

e dowe7 n th e e XP G enCe ' "* J?™*' adoined > -d 
endowed the Grammar School ; gave a sum of 

inoney towards the repair of th'e'pansh Zcl 

Be, having no ch.ldren of his own, by his last wi 

adopted poor for h 1SSO rs and heirs ; and orde ed 

Zl°:C l 1° ^ bUlU f ° r them ' ™« lh.t P-ri of 
h s wealth which remained, he gave to his wife, his 
kindred and fnends, and divers pious uses. He 
o d /H D a: C e ;» the lst ' A ' D - »»»■ » ?* •* ^ar 

»nH;^ G f ntl ^ en by the wiU of °™n Ragsdale 
appontedas Trustees, were, An. 38Eliz. incSpor, 

Gove I ^7 Fa T' Under thb denomination of 
Governors of Jesus Hospital, Rowel, and a few years 
afterward proceeded ,o enact a Code of Regulations 
for the dicipline and management of the Charity, of 
which a brief abstract is annexed hereto. 
Preamble ^ Statutes, Rules, and Orders, con- 

cerning the Nomination, Election, 
Governmcnt.Mainienance.Diiecticn, 
Punishment, Expulsion, and Re- 
moving of the particular bodies, 
part of the Corporation of or resident 
in, or resorting unto Jesus Hospital, 
in Rowel, in the County of North- 
ampton made and agreed upon 
by Ihomas Tresham, George 



HUNDRED OF ROTHWELL OTHERWISE ROWELL 81 



1st. 



2nd. 



\l. 



3rd. 
Expulsion of 
Principal. 

4th. 



Gascoign, Ferdinando Pulton, and 
Oliver Farrer Esquires: being the 
now survivors of those that in the 
Letters patent of our late sovereign 
Lady Queen Elizabeth bearing date 
the 29;h day of June in the 38th 
year of her reign, be named and ap- 
pointed to be the first Governors of 
the goods, possessions, and revenues 
of the said Hospital, and thereby 
also authorized to make and ordain 
Statutes, Rules, and Orders for 
the same, 

A Principal to be elected by the 
Governors or a majority of them. 

Relates to the eligibility of the 
Principal ; must be 40 years of age 
at least ; of good name and credit 
aforetime ; and never indicted for 
any treasonable or felonious crime, 
nor vehemently suspected of the 
same; of good health, and unmarried. 

For any offence previously enu- 
merated, marrying, embezzling 
Hospital Funds. 

No person to be eligible as Prin- 
cipal having a Freehold or Copyhold 
Estate of greater annual value than 
£4. or having an anunity Exceeding 
20 Nobles per annum, or having 
personal property exceeding one 
hundred Markes in value unless such 
party previous to his election shall 



82 



COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 



5th. 

Duties of the 
Principal. 



surrender to the governors one third 
of such his Estate. 

These, which formerly extended 
to the collection of rents, and their 
disbursement to the purposes of the 
charity ; as to the personal super- 
vision of the Inmates of the Hospital 
are now much curtailed. An agent 
having been appointed at a fixed 
salary on the 2nd. Feb. 1841. for 
management of the Estates. The 
duties now required from the Princi- 
pal are as follow. To keep a Register 
of the Governors Assistants, Principal 
andlnmates of the Hospital, withthe 
dates of their appointment, admis- 
sion and decease. To give notice 
in a form duly prescribed of any 
vacancy by death, or expulsion. - 
To see that the statutes enacted by 
1 he governors be duly enforced, or 
give notice of their infringement. 
To keep the Hospital in good re- 
pair, apartments therein clean and 
wholesome. To keep the keys of 
the Gates, and cause them to be 
shut every night at nine of the ' 
Clock, and opened at four o'clock 
in the morning, if it be day 
otherwise not until day-light; 
without reasonable and special 
cause. To be himself continually 
resident at the Hospital, not being 
absent more than one day in a 






HUNDHED OF ROTHWELL OTHERWISE ROWELL 83 



6th. 

Principals 

Deputy. 

7th. 
Death of the 
Principal 



8 th. 
Government 
During the 
interval be- 
tween the 
death of one 
and the elec- 
tion of an- 
other Prin- 
cipal. 

9th, 
Election oi 
Inmates 



month without special licence of 
of the Governors. 

During the unavoidable absence 
of the Principal, his deputy to be 
appointed by the Governor irom 
among the poor inmates. 

On the death, resignation, or 
expulsion of the Principal, the old- 
est inmate of the Hospital (by elec- 
tion) to look up and seize with all 
convenient speed all monies, goods, 
and papers in the custody of the 
deceased, and inform the governors 
of the death of the said Principal. 

During the time which shall 
elapse from ihe death of one Prin- 
cipal and the entering upon residence 
of his successior, the duties to be 
performed by the senior, elected 
Inmate. 



10th. 
Eligibility 
of Inmates. 



Governors to nominate in rotation 
within thirty days of receiving notice 
of vacancy. 

Must have lived in good repute 
afore-time; free from dangerous and 
infectious disease; unmarried. Not 
less than forty years of a^e; not 
blind; nor so lame as to be unable to 



84 



(20UNTY OF SOUTHAMPTON. 



walk to church. Nor an Idiot, 
Lunatic, or one bestraught of his 
wits; must have continually resided 
in one of these three hundreds viz. 
Rothwell, Orlingbury, or Corby, for 
the space of three years at least be- 
fore his admission, excepting only 
kinsmen of the Founder, who shall 
ever be eligible for admission, 
wheresoever their residence. 

Stipend of Originally five pounds per an. 
the Principal with residence, &c ; but now rais- 
ed to £35 per an. with commodious 
house, garden, &c. 
Of the poor Six shillings per week, with lodg- 

Inmates. ings coals, garden, &c. 

I4th. The Principal, Poor, and Sick 

Attendance Men, shall every Sunday, Holiday, 
at Church. ( and Festival day throughout the 
year, assemble themselves in the said 
Hospital, and then go to ihe Church 
together ; the Principal going before 
and the poor and sick men following 
after, two, and two, in orderly, and 
decent manner; all attired in their 
best apparel, and as near as may be 
in one uniform fashion; of gowns; 
or cloak, and caps. And in like 
manner there sit as near together as 
they may, quietly and devoutly all 
the Service time : And at the end of 
Service shall return from the church 
together in order as aforesaid. 



HUNDRED OF ROTHWELL OTHERWISE ROWELL Sb 



15th. 

Care of 
the Founder's 
tomb. 



16th. 

Employment 
ofthe inmates 



17th 

Residence of 
Inmates. 



Tlie Principal ofthe said H, spital 
and every of the said poor and sick 
men, shall have special care and re- 
gard, ihatthe tomb in Rowed church 
of Owen Ragsdale, Esquire deceas- 
ed, Founder of the said Hospital, 
and the epitaphs, superscriptions, 
wall-, pavements, and other things 
thereunto annexed, be kept whole, 
safe, bright, and clean: and if any 
thing therein shall hereafter be de- 
cayed, impaired, defaced, or blem- 
ished, the Principal shall cause the 
same presently to be repaired, at 
the charge of th* said Hospital, &q. 

Every poor and sick man remain- 
ing within the said Hospital shall 
according to his age, health, and 
strength, on the working days, do 
some labour or work for and towards 
the increase of his living, and bv no 
means shall give himself to idleness, 
drunkenness, vagrant life, or be T - 

g in g- 

No poor man admitted into this 
Hospital, to lie forth there of any 
night without license ofthe Govern- 
ors, nor with such leave more than 
four days in one month, or twenty 
days in one year. Neither is any 
stranger not being ofthe Corporation 
to be suffered to lodge in the said 
house above one night in a quarter 
of a year. 

H3, 



86 

18th. 
Injuring the 
Hospiial or 
Appurten- 
ances there- 
unto. 

19th. 
Beading of 
the Statutes 



COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 



Ordains that such damage or in- 
jury shall be repaired as speedily! 
as may be convenient, at the q$* 
pence of the party causing it. 



The Statutes to be for ever here- 
after read openly and distinctly, 
twice annually in the chamber of 
the Principal and in the presence 
of the poor men, on the feast day of 
St. Michael the Archangel, and on 
the feast day of the Annunciation 
of ihe blessed Virgin Mary at 
two o'clock, P.M. 
20th. On admission of each inmate,; 

Disposal of he is to resign all his goods to the 
Gupdsofthe use °f the Hospital, after his 
Inmates. decease; receiving therein ajlife in? 

terest only. 

In 16185 the interests of this Charity were prin? 
cipally committed to 

The Right Hon. Visct. Culler* 

Sir Roger Norwich 

and Sir Lewis Palmer, Barts, 

In 1703 provision was made for an uniformity 
in the dress of the inmates by 

Sir Justinian Isham, 

Sir Erasmus Norwich, 

and Sir Lewis Palmer', Bart§. 



HUXDRKD OF ROTHWEI,!,, OTHERWISE ROWELL, 87 

In 1765. the vice of drunkenness appears to have 
required particular controul, as we find a decree to 
the following- import — " Every man belonging to 
this Society, getting drunk, shall be fined 2s. 6d. 
fur each offence ; and 3s. more if he be led home ; 
sixpence to be paid out of it to those who conduct 
him. 




Zedud' &OodAi/a/j czoc'//i<coe/i. 



A gratifving pVoof of the effectual administration 
of the Founder's estate was afforded in the year 
1835; when his benevolent intentions were ex- 
ended, by an order for the admission of two ad- 
litional peusioners. This Order was signed by 

H3. 



S8 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

Sir' Justinian I sham, 
Sir J. H, Palmer, Baits, 
T. P Maiinseli; 

and J. C Rose> Esq*" es »- 

At the present daU (]849j the Governing 
Corporation is constituted as follows. 
Governors (1849.) 
SirJ Palmer, Bart. Carlton* 
T. P. Maunseil, Esq. M.P 1 horpe Malsor, 
Allen Young:, JE«q. Oilinsbury, 
Sir A De Cupel Broke, Bart. Great Oakley 
Ge.rTrey Palmer Esq Carlton. 

trith a body of assistants, frOrri whom, in the event 
of the death or resignation of a Governor, his 
place is supplied. 

Assistants (1849.) 
W. S Rose, Esq. Cransley, 
W. T. Maunseil, Esq. Thorpe MMsor 
Allen Young, Jun. Esq. Orlingbury, 
W. De Capel Broke, Esq. Harboroushj 
The Revd. G. E. Maunseil, Thorpe Rectory 

THE FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 

The foundation of this Institution may very 
fairly be considered among the earliest fruits of 
the Reformation. The monastic and conventual 
establishments having been suppressed in the reign 
of Henry 8th, a portion of their revenues were next 
appropriated to the endowment ot Churches, and 
Scauois ; and there is little doubt that the small 

[L.oFC. 



HUNDKEDOF ROTHWELL OTHERWISE HOWELL 89 

c l,apel of St. Mary, which the reduced population 
ol the town no longer required, was converted to 
a secular use, and became the Grammar School. 
Of this indeed we have positive evidence, as it 
was certified that in the 2nd year of Etiwil, 6th. 

" the chapel was thus employed; and that in ad- 
dition to its original endowment there was given 
by divers unknown persons in land and tenements 
£4. 2s. 9d ; out of which was deducted 13s -8d.» and 
to the poor 4s 2d. 

In 1684 (24 Chas. 2nd.) the Commissioners for 
the inspection of Charities investigated the con- 
dition of the Rowel I Grammar School, revised 
the list of Trustees, filled up such vacancies as 
had occurred by death or otherwise, and placed the 
Charity on an efficient footii g. The interval 
which has since elapsed has however been 
sufficient to reduce it to more than even its pristine 

ifcondition of inutility, and neglect. A miserahle 
show of education of the most elementary character 
is kept up; but for all really practical purposes 
the intent of the foundation is at present altogether 
lost sight of. A subscription has been raised, and 
measures taken for restoring the perverted funds 
to the accomplishment of the original object ; but 
owning to the adoption of certain injudicious and 
offensive measures the attempt has been deprived 
of powerful aid which would otherwise no doubt 
have willingly been afforded towards effecting so 
laudable an object. 

The Charitv is at present we believe under ex- 
amination in the Court of Chancery ; the issue of 
which it is fervently to be hoped will result in the 
restoration of its advantages 10 the youth of they 



90 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

town. On the scite of £t. Mary's Chapel stands a 
decayed house used as the residence of ihe master, 
and his place of instruction, but no truce of the 
original edifice now remains. 

Other Charities in Howell, are thus given in 
" Whellan's History of Northamptonshire/' 
A.D. Donor. object anl. value 

1726 Mrs. Mary JVlaunsell, School .. 29 4 2 
1590 Owen Ragsdale. . Jesus Hospl. 431 

Hunt's Charity.. Poor 36 |0 

1728 Mrs. Agnes Hill Six Widows 28 

1727 Cooper (rent) . . Bread to poor 3 
Revd. Jos. Bentham ditto f* 10 u 
Poor's Land ditto 8 

1714 T. Ponder Six Widows 6 2 6 

1730 Saml. Tebbutt(rent) 6 Bibles to 

poor Children 1 10 
1653 R.Andrews Esq. (£i60) Poor Losi 

APPENDIX. 

Chancel — p. 12, et seq. 

Daring the passage of the preceding sheets 
through the press, the contemplated repairs of ths 
Chancel have been carried out with infinite judg- 
ment and unbounded liberality, such of the hatch- 
ments as would admit of reparation have been 
re- varnished, the tattered cloth renewed, the 
escutcheons themselves replaced upon the Chancel 
walls, which have been thoroughly cleansed from 
plaister, and altogether the contrast between the 
pure simplicity of ancient art, in the Chancel, and 
the incongruous mode of restoration adopted a few 
years since in the body of the church, is a strong 
proof of the rapidity with which correct principles, 



HFNDRED 0¥ ROT II WE'LL OTHERWISE ROWBL1. 91 

of Church Architecture are gaining ground among 
us. 

The following inscriptions have been brought to 
lh>ht, during the restoration ol this portion of the 
sacred building : — i 

Here lyeth ye body of Elizabeth 
Lodington, relict of Stephen Lodington, 
of Lincoln, Gent, She was of ye eminently pious 
Family of Harriss, of Kirton, near Boston, 

in the County of Lincoln, 

God gave to her faiiu-r. ftobert Harriss, Gent, 

whose oily daughter and heir she was, a truly 

wise and understanding heart, to consider ye 

Poor, their various wants, and sufferings, 

Familys, and Persons, Widows, and Fatherless 

especially. 

Many he prevented from povertre, many he 

recovered out of it, some to a flourishing state. 

He freely lent, freely gave, as need required* 

Goods, Cattle, Monie, sometimes large sums, 

and even land to many, for lives : 

To y£ Church for ever. 

The lost and benighted Travailers he sought 

and sav'd 

when almost dying, yet feared not ye cold that 

brought his own death whilst directing 3C0 

men stopping a seabreach to save his country 

from Invndation 

His funeral lext, chosen by the 

" The blessing of him that was read)' to 

perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's 

heait to sing for joy ■ 29 .- 13 



92 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON. 

WILLIAM db ROTHWELLE p 3 14. 



The passage at page 3, in which an allusion to 
the death of this priest will be found, is liable to 
misconstruction : The date of his decease is not 
engiaven on the brass, but it is believed on the 
authority of the Vicarial roll to have occurred at 
the time specified, bince ihe brief notice of the brass 
and epitaph at page 14 was written, the singularly 
learned work of the Rev, O. H. Hartshorne, a 
Fellow of the Antiquarian Society,and Rector of 
Cogenhoe, in this county, on Sepulchral Monu* 
ment has been placed in my hands ; and it would 
be an act of injustice to its accomplished Author, 
to abbreviate his notice of the monumental record 
under discussion. It will be seen there is a very 
material difference between the documents cited 
by this Gentleman and others of probably equal 
authenticity. 

" The earliest (brass) in Northamptonshire, is 
that of Laurence Seymour, Rector of Higham 
Ferrers (1339). That to William de Rothwell, 
at Rothwell, who died Archdeacon of Essex in 
1361, comes next. He was instituted incumbent 
of the Vicatage of Rothwell about the year 1320, 
and successively became Archdeacon of Essex and 
Prebendary of Croprych Ferring and Yalmeton, 
(Hallaughton f) and Confessor to the King, which 
indicates that he was a person of importance. 
The style of art is rude, and so far as execution 
and design are concerned, it is a work assignable 
to the ab^ve period. The Scripture underneath. 



Ftfcb&tt) OF fcOTI WEtr OTHERWISE ROWELL V3 

as the inscription was called, is incised in two 
parallel columns. 

On the right side it is thus ) '■ Nunc Xre te peto. 
Misere queso qui venisti redime pMitum noli 
dapnare me tUu redeptu." On the left side : 
" t Pur l'aime William de Rothewelle qi cy est 
sepule jadis Erchidakn de E*sex, Provendier de 
Croprvch, Ferry ng:. and Yalmeton, anoine Pnetx 
au Rov de glorie. qe de lui elieyt pyte en honour 
de qi devoutement dites Pa er noster ei Ave." 
As William de Rothwelle was appointed Arch- 
deacon of Essefc by the Kin*: June 20 ? 1351, 
(Pat. 25. EI-II. p. 2) and John de Barnet his 
successor, Nov 30, 1361 (v, Le Neve, p. 190) the 
date of this Pothwell brass therefore must be 
assigned to the year 1361." 

iL Funeral Monuments in Northamptonshire b? the 
Rev C. H. Hartshorne, M.A. F.S.A. 

Cambridge. Parker, and West Strand, Lon- 
don, p. 58. 

THE AUGUSTINE NUNNERY. 
P. 51. and seq, 

In this month of October (1849) it became 
necessary to take down a considerable poition of 
the residence of Mr. J. M Cole known as " the 
Nunnery" ; and which, as is mentioned in a 
1* preceding page, occupied the site of the conventual 
establishment, suppressed by Henry 8th. In the 
course of the excavations required for the found- 
ations of the new buildings, the position of the 
convent burying ground was satisfactorily indi- 



94 COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON 

cated by the discovery of numerous skeletons, lying 
at an ♦ qnal distance beneath the surface, not mure 
than three feet in depth (probably the soil had been 
at some time lowered, as the oxignal interments 
must have been at a greater depth) and in some in- 
stances two or more bodies o<cupyin£ the Bame 
grave. It is painful to add that the remains of the 
g)od recluses were not altogether treated with 
that decent respect which should have dictated 
their removal to the p.msh cemetery, 



En d of the History of Howell; 



FEB 15 1902 



uLf-@>*~ 3 ><*i< c ^<r^ 



HISTORY 



e 



T » t 

1 ROTHWELL.i 

• I 

I § 

a /« £fo County of Northampton. a 



T * 

A A 

V WITH Am 1 

J V 

1 Account of the Bone Caverns. <jt 

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e » 

1? • 

$ BY J 

f PAUL CYPHER. T 



« 



Sngrabinjs nf §rass«s anlr SHJutbotts. » 
1 

Northampton : § 

TAYLOR & SON, PRINTERS & PUBLISHERS. ♦ 

v 

1869. i 



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PUBLICATIONS. 



Askham's (John) Sonnets on the Months : and other Poems, 
Descriptive, Domestic, and National, fcap. 8vo, cloth extra, 
3/6 

Askham's (John) Descriptive Poems, Miscellaneous Pieces, 
Scriptural, Descriptive, Biographical, and Miscellaneous Sonnets, 
fcap. 8vo, cloth extra, 3/6 

Askham's (John) Judith, and other Poems ; and a Centenary 
of Sonnets, illustrated with a Photograph of the Author, fcap. 
8vo, cloth extra, 3/6 

History and Antiquities of Higrham Ferrers, with Historical 
Notices of Rushden and Irthlingborough, by John Cole, fron- 
tispiece, 12mo, cloth, 3/6 1838 

Memorials of the Independent Churches in Northampton- 
shire, with Biographical Notices of their Pastors, and Account 
of the Puritan Ministers who Laboured in the County, by 
Rev. T. Coleman, 12mo, cloth extra, (pub. 4/) 2/ 1853 

History of the Town of Northampton, with an Account of 
its Public Buildings and Institutions, Eminent Men, Members 
of Parliament, Mayors and Bailiffs, and the most Remarkable 
Events, map, 8vo, 112pp., cloth, 2/6 1847 

A Sermon Preached in College Street Chapel, Northampton, 
October 30th, 1859, by Rev. J. T. Brown, previous to his 
Departure on a Mission to Jamaica, 8vo, 16pp., 2d. 1859 

A Sermon Preached in College Street Chapel, Northampton, 
November 15th, 1868, upon the Occasion of the Death of the 
Rev. N. Rowton, by Rev. J. T. Brown, 8vo, 22pp., wrapper, 3d. 

The Circular Letter from the Ministers and Messengers of the 
several Baptist Churches in the Northamptonshire Association, 
assembled at Rushden, June 6 and 7, 1865, with Statistics of 
the Association, 1765-1865, 8vo, 20pp., 2d. 1865 

The Memories of our Fathers : a Centenary Discourse ad- 
dressed to the Members of the Baptist Churches in the North- 
amptonshire Association, assembled at Rushden, June 7, 1865, 
by Rev. J. T. Brown, with Appendix containing Circular 
Letter of 1765, and Extracts from the Yearly Breviates of the 
Association, 8vo, 40pp., wrapper, 3d. 1865 

The Final Appeal in Matters of Faith, or the Pope, the 
(Ecumenical Council, and the Bible, by the Rev. W. J. Bain, 
8vo, 35pp., wrapper, 3d. 1870 

A Free Reference Library for Northampton, a Letter ad- 
dressed to the Worshipful the Mayor, W. Adkins, Esq., 8vo, 
28pp., 2d. 1869 

Account of the Entertainment given to the Queen of 
James the First and Prince Henry, at Althorpe, on Saturday, 
being the 25th of June, 1603, by T. F. Dibdin, 8vo, 8pp., 
wrapper, 4d. 

A Sketch of the Gunpowder Treason, and its Connection 
with Northamptonshire, by Rev. W. D. Sweeting, 8vo, 16pp., 
wrapper, 3d. 

Belations of Remarkable Fires in Northamptonshire, com- 
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Eye-Witnessesand Sufferers, Briefs by Royal Authority, News- 
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Architectural Notice of the Triangular Lodge at Rushton, 
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A Brief History of Witchcraft, with Especial Reference to 

the Witches of Northamptonshire, illustrations, 8vo, 18pp., 

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ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE 

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" Messks. J. Taylor & Son, of Northampton, have, in the most laudahle mannei 
commenced the publication of a series of reprints of rare and curious tracts iilus 
trative of the Topography of Northamptonshire, which they issue at intervals at a ver > 
moderate price. The only two we have at present received, are the " Poetical History c 
the Familv of Maunsell," and the " Witches of Northamptonshire," who were execute' 
in 1612. These two are as beautifully and&s carefully prepared as need be, and are don 
up in "crayon wrappers" in excellent^aste. If the rest of the series are as good a 
these examples are, collectors will have reason to be proud of them as an acquisitit 
to their libraries.— The Reliquary, Quarterly Archaeological Journal. 



I. The Witches of Northamptonshire, 

Who were all executed at Northampton the 22. of Iuly last. 1612 
28pp. 2/ London, 1612 

II. An Account of the Tryals, Examination and Condemnatioi 

of Elinor Shaw, and Mary Philips, (two notorious Witches) a 
Northampton Assizes, Wednesday, the 7th of March, 1705. 8pp. 1 

III. A True and Faithful Account of the Births, Educations 

and Conversations of Elinor Shaw, and Mary Philips, (the tw( 
notorious Witches) that were Executed at Northampton, on Satur 
day, March the 17th, 1705. 8pp. 1/ London, 170; 

IV. A Brief History of Witchcraft. 

With Especial Reference to the Witches of Northamptonshire i 
Illustrations. 18pp. 1/ North impton, 186( 

V. Account of the Remarkable Case of the Duchess o: 

Bedford, who was charged with having by Witchcraft fixed th: 
love of the King on her Daughter Queen Elizabeth. 8pp. 1/6 [1470 

VI. Relation of a Memorable Piece of Witchcraft 

At Welton, near Daventry. 8pp. 1/ 

VII. The Barby Apparition. 

Communicated by Sir Charles Isham, Bart, in a Letter to Henn 
Spicer, Esq. 16pp. 1/ 

VIII. The Gunpowder Treason. 

Trials of the Conspirators, with an Account of their Arraignmen 
and Execution. Also, History of the Gunpowder Plot. By Kinc 
James. 40pp. 1/ 

IX. The State of Northampton from the Beginning of the Fire 

Sept. 20th 1675 to November 5th. 12pp. 1/ London, 1675 

X. Relations of Remarkable Fires in Northamptonshire, 

From the XI. to the XVIII. Centuries. Illustrations. 24pp. 1/ 

XI. Northamptonshire Topography : 

An Historical Account of what has been done for Illustrating 
the Topographical Antiquities of the County of Northampton 
By Richard Gough. 24pp. 1/ 

XII. Poetical History of the Family of Maunsell. 

With Preface and Notes by George Baker, Esq. 8pp. 1/ 

XIII. Index to Places in Baker's History of Northamptonsh 

12pp. 1/ ^^V 

XIV. Architectural Description of the Triangular Lodge ai 

KusHTOtf. With Notes of the Parish Church and of the Tresham 
Family. By Rev. W. D. Sweeting, M.A. Plates Sf Plan. 14pp. 1 

XV. A True Relation of Colonel Cromwels Proceedings 

against the Cavaliers. 8pp. 1/ 
A Relation of the Siege of Burghley House by Cromwell. 



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